


Phantom Dreams

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-21 17:04:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 82,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1557731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life was finally on track for Danny Fenton. He was doing well in school. He had great friends. Bullying was at an all time low. Ghost threats were at a minimum. Everything seemed perfect. Until a new threat arrived in Amity Park.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I finished this story up last November for NaNoWriMo 2013. I had a lot of fun with it, and I don't often see the Kwan/Danny ship, but I like it.

It was one of those days where he just knew something would go wrong. His alarm clock rung an hour earlier than usual. His hand shot out to shut off the obnoxious noise, but in his groggy state, he lost control of his powers, and his hand turned intangible and sank through the clock. The noise faded, thankfully, but the clock was busted and flashed a random series of numbers. Danny groaned as he rolled onto his back and rubbed at his tired eyes. Even as he wished to return to the realm of dreams, he knew it was hopeless to even attempt going back to sleep. He remained in bed as he felt too tired and too lazy to get up right then, so he laid there with his arm thrown over his eyes.

Twenty minutes of blessed blankness with no troubling thoughts or worries passed before Danny finally decided to climb out of bed. Scratching a hand through his messy mop of raven hair, he made his way over to his closet. When he stubbed his toe, he released a shout and hopped about on one foot for a good five minutes as the pain throbbed through his big toe. He hobbled the rest of the way to the closet, muttering under his breath. After throwing open the door, he began his usual routine of searching for clean clothes, making a mental note to remember to do his laundry over the coming weekend since his mother forced him to start doing it himself as a way to prepare him for the wonderfully independent life at college.

With a sigh, Danny rubbed the back of his neck before he sifted through the growing pile of clothes. He pulled out a white shirt and discovered a large hole in it. Frowning, he tried to remember how the hole got there, but coming up with no answer, he tossed it aside and sought out another shirt. After ten minutes of searching, he had an outfit ready. With that done, he headed for the bathroom, deciding to take a shower before school with the extra time he had. When he turned on the water, he frowned at the green slime that oozed out of the shower head and splattered upon the shiny white porcelain of the tub.

“Mom!” Danny shouted as he jogged out of the bathroom and down the stairs. He found his mother in the kitchen where she was making breakfast. "Mom, what’s wrong with the water? It’s green!”

“Oh, that,” Maddie said as she turned off the stove. “We were working on a new invention. Unfortunately, there was a small miscalculation." She winced as she squeezed forefinger to thumb together. "So we won’t have running water for about a day.” She tilted her head as she stared at Danny. “You’re up early today.”

“I guess I set my alarm wrong last night. And I guess I won’t be taking a shower.” Danny sighed, thinking it was strange that whatever invention his parents were working on caused ectoplasm to fill their pipes. For a brief moment, he wondered what sort of invention it could be then decided it was best not to know.

After leaving the kitchen, Danny climbed the stairs and returned to his bedroom to change for school. He tore off his blue pajamas and pulled on a pair of blue jeans that hugged his hips. He chose a white shirt with the image of a cartoon monkey hitting its head with a wooden mallet. Danny ran a brush through his hair as he walked over to his desk. At the sight of the scattered books and papers, he groaned.

“I meant to organize this all last night,” Danny muttered. After setting down the brush, he gathered the papers into a pile. Last night was a blur in his mind, and he couldn’t recall half the work he did. He stuffed the papers into a textbook and shoved that into his already full book bag, cramming the thick book into the bag with all his force.

With the book bag slung over his shoulder, Danny jogged back down the stairs. He sat at the kitchen table for the breakfast that his mother already set before his seat at the table. Picking up a fork, he prepared to dig in, but his appetite left him when he noticed bits of his eggs attempting to wander off the plate.

“Actually,” Danny said as he set his fork back on the table, “I should get to school early. I still have a few assignments to finish.” He stood up and snatched his keys from the hook by the door. He fled from the room before his mother had the chance to protest his departure without eating first. Danny jogged down the walkway to where his car was parked at the end of it. Jack was eager to buy Danny a nice, brand new car, but Maddie gave them a budget so small that all they could find was a used white Volkswagen Beetle. Danny complained for many months after getting the car, but now he was happy to have one that actually ran. Tucker’s parents wouldn’t buy him a car until after graduation.

When he arrived at Casper High, Danny headed first for the student store since the cafeteria was only open during lunch. The student store mostly sold snack items: candy bars, chips, bagels and sometimes they had hot dogs. In the winter, they even sold hot chocolate. Danny was early enough to get there before a line formed and had time to look over his options. After a few minutes, he paid for a chocolate muffin. With food in hand, Danny trotted off toward his locker. He plopped down on the floor and pulled out his textbook with the crumpled papers sticking out at odd angles.

“It’s the first sign of the apocalypse! Danny’s at school early!” Tucker exclaimed when he spotted his friend.

“Ha, ha! Very funny,” Danny muttered before he began sorting his papers again. “I can’t believe I fell asleep before finishing all of this.”

“Man, you should just tell Lancer to stop forcing all this extra work on you,” Tucker told him as he opened his locker.

“Are you really going to eat that for breakfast?” Sam asked, pointing at the chocolate muffin.

“It’s better than eggs that move on their own.” Danny took a large bite from the muffin, enjoying the chocolaty taste. “So why are you two here so early?”

“That’s what I want to know.” Tucker turned toward Sam with a grumpy expression on his bespectacled face. “You woke me up way too early!”

“I have a meeting I need to go to,” Sam explained with a wicked smirk on her face. Tucker and Danny exchanged looks, neither liking Sam’s expression as they wondered what she was planning. “I’ll see you later!” With a wave, she walked down the hall.

“Do you have any idea what she could be planning?” Danny looked up at Tucker as he nibbled at his muffin.

“Not the slightest clue.” Tucker sighed as he took a seat next to Danny on the floor and drew his trench coat around his body. Winter was long over, and the summer heat was creeping up on them, making Danny wonder what possessed his friend to wear such a heavy coat.

“Hm, Sam planning something,” Danny mumbled then pursed his mouth to one side as he thought. “That’s hardly ever a good thing.” He set the muffin down so that he could finish sorting the papers into separate piles.

“It could be nothing of consequence,” Tucker offered with a shrug, though doubt lingered in his eyes. Sam loved to protest things that usually ended with dragging her best friends into the situation as well. “Anyway, why do you take on so much homework all the time? It’s unfair that you have so much more work than the rest of the class.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Danny remained focused on his task. “I just can’t believe I fell asleep,” he repeated in a mumble, mostly to himself.

“It’s because you’re overworking yourself,” Tucker pointed out as he reached over Danny to steal his muffin. “You’re lucky there haven’t been too many ghosts lately.”

“There have been quite a few,” Danny corrected, glaring at Tucker for taking the muffin. “I just thought it would be better if I did the ghost hunting on my own. You and Sam need time to study and do homework, too. I can handle the ghost hunting and studying. I’ve been handling it all year long.”

“What?” Tucker exclaimed, and his brow shot up as a hint of betrayal flashed in his green eyes. “And I got this nice trench coat with all these pockets so that I could hide the Thermos and some of your parents’ other inventions.”

“Oh? And I thought it was for easy keeping of your PDA and stuff.” Danny smirked as Tucker gave him a shove. They fell silent for a time as Danny continued sorting his papers and Tucker ate the muffin. “So,” Danny said slowly, glancing briefly at the other man, “have you made a move on Sam yet?”

Tucker choked on the bite of muffin he was about to swallow. With a chuckle, Danny gave him a hard slap on the back as Tucker coughed.

“Made a move on Sam?” Tucker stuttered in a panicky manner as he glanced around the hall in fear of their conversation being overheard. “I – I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Unable to meet eyes with Danny, he kept his gaze turned away.

“Oh, come on, Tuck!” Danny grinned. “We’re best buds, right? You should be able to talk to me about this kind of stuff.”

“Am-” Tucker started hesitantly. “Am I really that obvious?”

“To a keen observer such as myself,” Danny replied, puffing out his chest and trying to look important. That was until a football slammed into the locker and missed his head by mere inches, making Danny flinch and duck. His hands shot up to cover his head as his papers scattered again.

“So much for a keen observer.” Dash snickered as he and Kwan approached the two friends. He bent down and snatched the ball from the floor. He tapped Danny on the head with the football before he righted himself again. “Losers,” he muttered with a snort.

“You know, Dash,” Danny said, sighing as he tried to reorganize his papers, “it would be wise for you not to abuse someone that's tutoring you.”

Dash’s mouth thinned, and his dark blue eyes narrowed. “You promised not to breathe a word about that to anyone,” he growled, his free hand clenching and unclenching.

“Yeah, well, you promised not to hit me,” Danny shot back with a stern glare of his own.

“Dash, just drop it,” Kwan said, laying a hand on the blond man's shoulder. “You need his tutoring in order to graduate.” He pushed his teammate down the hallway. Dash glared at Danny before he turned away in a huff and stomped off. Kwan glanced over his shoulder as he gave the pair a weak smile. Then he hurried after his friend.

“Since when do you tutor Dash?” Tucker demanded after getting over his shock.

“We started around sophomore year,” Danny explained with a shrug. “The three of us all had classes we weren't doing well in, and it seemed to make sense to work together to help each other out.”

“So you’ve been ghost hunting on your own, doing tons of extra work, and tutoring with Dash?” Tucker gaped at his friend. “How do you even have time to sleep?”

“Sometimes I wonder about that too,” Danny mumbled before he looked up and grinned. “But it’s not as horrible as it sounds. Oh, and you forgot about filling out applications.” He snatched the muffin out of Tucker’s hand and ate the leftover chunk.

“Wow, you’re-” Tucker said, amazed. “You’ve changed a lot. When did this happen? Why am I only seeing this change now?”

Danny shrugged as he finally got all his papers organized. “I guess you don’t really notice subtle changes right away. I mean, I didn’t notice right away that you stopped wearing that hat or when you started wearing a trench coat or Sam’s sudden dislike of chocolate. How did that happen anyway?”

“I-” Tucker started and paused to think. “I actually have no clue. She just kind of woke up and decided to swear off chocolate, I guess.” His brow furrowed, trying to recall the first time Sam refused something with chocolate in it.

“But see? Change happens all the time,” Danny said as he stored his completed papers in his textbook. “You won’t notice all of them all of the time. Sometimes you won’t notice them at all. Minor things, really. Did you even notice when I stopped wearing baggy clothes?”

Tucker looked his friend up and down. “Dude! When did that happen?”

“I bet you noticed when Sam started growing her hair out and when she stopped wearing so much black.” Danny smirked knowingly at his friend.

“You’re not going to say anything to her about that, are you?” Tucker gave Danny a pleading look.

“I would never betray your confidence in matters of the heart,” Danny replied, almost offended that Tucker had to ask. He stood up and opened his locker to put away the textbook, along with a few other items from his book bag.

“Matters of the heart?” Sam questioned as she approached them, causing Tucker let out a squeak.

“Yeah,” Danny answered, thinking quickly, “guy talk, you know.” He grinned weakly as Sam eyed him.

“I guess I’ll have to respect that.” Sam sighed. “It’s not like I talk to you two about my crushes.”

“What crushes?” Tucker asked before he thought, and he cringed at how quickly he jumped to ask that question.

“If your crushes are none of my business, then my crushes are none of your business,” Sam answered as she folded her arms.

“So what was that meeting about?” Danny hoped to divert the conversation toward a new topic.

“Just a little project," Sam replied vaguely with a smirk that didn't give Danny a good feeling about this "project."


	2. Chapter 2

The day felt unbearably long, and not simply because it was much too hot in the classroom where, apparently, the air conditioners failed to work. Sam pulled hair up into a sloppy bun, not caring about neatness at the moment so long as curtain of ebony locks was no longer draped over her neck. Leaning back at her desk, she couldn't wait for the class to end as she practically counted down the minutes until the bell rang. Under normal circumstances, she would be one hundred percent focused on the class, but she had a meeting after school and she was excited to get planning on her little project. A sly smirk slipped onto her face as she already envisioned Tucker complaining about participating in it.

"Now," said their teacher Miss Henderson as she strode about the room, eying the students with a keen look, "can anyone tell me what the play is about?" She snatched a note from Miranda's hand as she was passing it to Star, who sat next to her. "Perhaps you'd like to share with us your opinion of the play, Miss Talbot." Her brown eyes pierced down into the young woman as she awaited a response.

Sam rolled her eyes because, of course, the A list members within the classroom wouldn't be paying any attention to what their teacher was saying. It was one of the, many, things that angered Sam about the A list. The A list was made up of the pretty people, the popular kids, the jocks and the cheerleaders, the people that could buy their way in because they had rich parents. But mostly, they all proved to be shallow and superficial. The A list women that shared her final class of the day tended to sit around gossiping and passing notes, rather than actually trying to learn anything. Sam would be surprised that any of them could even pass the class if it wasn't for the fact that she knew they bullied or paid the smarter students to do the work for them. It was frustrating when she, and many other students, worked hard for their grades while the A list could simply skate on by to an easy A because of threats or money. Sam had money, but she also liked expanding her brain by her own efforts. She didn't rely on someone smarter to do her work for her.

"Well," Miranda said as she tucked a lock of dark brown hair behind an ear, "obviously, _Romeo and Juliet_ tells of the greatest love that there ever was." She smiled up at their teacher, like she expected praise for her perfect answer.

"Please," Sam sneered at her, resisting the gag reflex to throw up her lunch.

"Excuse me?" Miranda snapped green eyes toward Sam and glared in disgust at the Goth woman. Sam might have adopted more colors into her wardrobe beyond black, but she still maintained a mostly Goth appearance, especially in the eyes of the narrow minded A lists who never changed the label of person after freshmen year. "Are you trying to say it's not?" Then she laughed, a wicked gleam dancing through her eyes. "Or do you think you and your little loser friend are the new and improved _Romeo and Juliet_ , since everyone knows your parents don't like each other? Someone sure has a big head."

Sam narrowed her violet eyes at the brunette as some of the other students laughed at Miranda's comment. That was another irritating thing about the A lists inability to change their opinion: they still never got it through their thick heads that nothing was ever going to happen between Danny and her. But then, most of the A list tended to have no brains and only thought about themselves.

"I completely disagree with your answer," Paulina spoke up, surprising Sam, who could only stare at the school's queen bee with her mouth agape in her shock.

Miranda opened her mouth, looking ready to snap back at Paulina for her disagreement, but she snapped her mouth shut in a hurry with a scowl twisting her pretty face. Paulina held enough influence in the school that she could probably crush Miranda's social standing with a mere word and make the short remainder of the school year a living hell for the other senior A list. Maybe the brunette had a few brain cells after all, or at the very least the sense to be fearful of the people ranked higher than she.

"Romeo and Juliet isn't about some great romance," Paulina continued, ignoring the looks that some of the other classmates were giving her. She kept her head raised high as she stared at the teacher, who was waiting to hear where her student was going with her response. "Juliet wasn't even fourteen yet, and right before their first meeting, Romeo was whining about his love for Rosaline. Two seconds later, Rosaline is all but forgotten at the sight of Juliet? Romeo and Juliet barely even knew each other before they rush into this secret marriage and end up dead for their troubles. And for what? A moment of lustful infatuation? They didn't know enough about each other to know if what they felt was really love or not. The message of the story is about why you shouldn't rush so hastily into love, it's about the folly of young love, and what we should take from the play is to not leap so fully into a relationship."

Sam swore her jaw tried to drop onto her desk in shock. Paulina had actually understood what the play was about? Paulina had actually _read_ the play? Sam was beside herself with the astonishment of that point. She would have guessed that most, if not all the A lists, and maybe even some of the other students, simply watched the latest release of the movie version of the play and only took the "greatest love story of all time" thought from it. Pinching her arm, she winced but was certain that this indeed was not a dream. But having a half ghost for a best friend, she couldn't rule out some this being some alternate reality where Paulina was actually some sort of secret nerd under her pretty face.

Or she realized in a corner of her mind, maybe she was being a bit narrow minded herself in thinking that Paulina was just some dumb, pretty face with a nasty cruel streak toward anyone that wasn't on the A list. Sam felt a little sick at the idea of being like the A list in that respect.

"That was an excellent analysis of the story, Miss Sanchez," Miss Henderson said, an impressed smile upon her aged face.

"But everyone knows that _Romeo and Juliet_ is the greatest love story," Miranda complained, pouting like a spoiled brat that refused to accept anything other than what she believed as truth.

"That's just media hype used to sell tickets to the latest remake of the movie," Miss Henderson said with a sigh that made her look exhausted. "Selling it as a great romance story appeals to young teens who identify with that whirlwind romance, leaping head first into being in love with someone they barely know."

"I still don't see why that's such a bad thing," Miranda grumbled, folding her arms over the top of her desk. "What's so bad about falling in love at first sight? It's not like we're all going to go commit double suicide."

"You can't know that," Sam argued. "People sometimes let their emotions blind them, especially when love is involved. You jump to wrong conclusions, things get blown out of proportion. Parents not wanting you to be with someone for any number of reasons that lead you to believing your only option to be with that person is to run away, or at the very extreme to take your lives so that you can be together in the next life. Shakespeare wanted to warn against such foolishness."

"Indeed," Miss Henderson agreed. "It's not that falling in love itself is bad. It's falling in love too quickly. Love is something that should grow over time as you get to know the other person. And nowadays, we also have to warn about teen pregnancy when it comes to young love. I'm sure many of you have fallen in love at least once already. But would you want to have to worry about raising a child at your age because you rushed into love and sex? What if your parents didn't accept it and kicked you out of the house? What if you boyfriend abandoned you after discovering you were pregnant?" She snapped her brown eyes all around the room, narrowing them at each other students in a way that made many of them jerk to attention like they were just scolded. "I want you all to consider how that would affect your lives before you think about taking things to the next level with any of your partners. I know prom is coming up, and that's a big night for many of you." She said it like she knew many of her students were considering prom night to be their first time with whomever they were dating. "Condoms, you'll discover, aren't one hundred percent guaranteed to prevent pregnancy."

The bell rang at that moment, and many of the students started packing up their things, happy and relieved to leave the class. Sam almost forgot about her eagerness to get to her meeting once the discussion started. After she shoved her books into her bag, she slung it over a shoulder as she stood, but she halted when she found two people standing in her way. Sam frowned, her brow knitting as she glanced between Paulina and her ever present satellite Star. She might give Paulina points for actually understanding _Romeo and Juliet_ , but that didn't mean she was going to become best friends with the queen bee. If Paulina was looking to pick on her for one reason or another, or for no reason at all, Sam wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of cowing her like other non-A list students.

"I have somewhere to be," Sam said, frowning at the two women. "So if you could save the harassment for another time, that would work really well for me."

"Oh, we know exactly where you're supposed to be," Star said, smirking as she placed one hand on hip.

"Why do you say it like that?" Paulina turned a frown onto the other woman. "You make it sound like we plan on taking her to some storage closet or something and roughing her up before locking her in the closet."

Star jerked, dropping the arm at her side as the smirk fell. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Wait," Sam said, confusion clouding her brain as she tried to understand what the two women wanted of her. "That's not what you want?"

Paulina's emerald eyes landed on Sam. Then she shook her head. "I was told to meet with you after school to start discussing your little project."

"You're the one that's supposed to work with me?" Sam gaped at the woman again. Maybe this was a nightmare after all. What was Principal Ishiyama thinking when she decided to have Sam and Paulina work together? Didn't she realize the two were more likely to pull out each other's hair or claw out each other's eyes, instead of getting anything done?

"You should feel lucky we even agreed to this," Star said with that annoyingly snobby air about her.

"Are you really trying to turn this into a fight?" Paulina frowned, and Star glanced away from the look on her friend's face, keeping her mouth shut. "Principal Ishiyama," she turned her attention back onto Sam, who was amazed that Paulina was actually trying to keep this as a civil conversation instead of letting it spiral downward into a fight, "knows I'm pretty good at putting together events, and she figured you'd probably prefer to speak with a peer about planning this rather than an adult who would probably try to stomp all over your ideas with restrictions."

"Wow," Sam mumbled as her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "I guess Principal Ishiyama does know a thing or two about her students." She admittedly did have to see the principal on a few occasions over the years when her protests got a little too out of hand, but she never thought that Principal Ishiyama really cared a whole lot about getting to know the students of Casper High. It still surprised her that Principal Ishiyama even agreed to let her run with this idea. Folding her arms, Sam frowned at Paulina. "All right. So where do you want to begin?"

"Well, for starters," Paulina said as she took a seat on top of one of the desks, "I think we should incorporate this into prom. I know there are a lot of people that are still dateless, and this auction would allow some of them to perhaps acquire dates."

Sam nodded to the suggest, glancing briefly at Star, who took a seat at another desk with a notebook out and ready to jot down notes. "I had the same thought. I know there are some who are already just planning to come solo to prom, or not at all, because they figure no one is going to ask them or say yes if they ask anyone. But," she frowned as she leaned against the desk, "I worry that some guys will feel disheartened about it because no one will bid on them because they're 'losers.'" She air quoted the word as she glared at the pair of A lists.

"I do understand your worry there. It'll probably be hard to get those guys to participate if they're already feeling down on themselves about not being able to get dates." Paulina's expression turned serious as she leaned back on her arms. "Why would they want to put themselves up for the humiliation of not being bid on when they already feel like they can't get a date?"

"But," Star cut in, and Sam felt nervous about what she was going to say, "there are girls that are feeling the same way, you know. Even if it's with another loser, wouldn't they still want the chance to ensure a date for themselves? No one wants to go to prom alone. That's just sad."

"You could be a little more compassionate," Sam said, wishing sometimes that Star could keep her mouth shut. "And not everyone feels that way. Some people are perfectly content with going to prom alone. They don't _need_ to have a date. And they shouldn't be forced into feeling that way. But for those that want a magical night with a date, this might be a way to allow them that chance. And it's for charity! That's got to at least encourage some people to participate. Right?" She glanced between the two women, hoping that they would agree.

"I do think that better habitats for the animals at the zoo is a good cause." Paulina nodded, though Star looked unimpressed with where the money from the auction would go. "Some of the animals' living condition really aren't the best. But," she added, and Sam tensed, wondering what idea was going on in Paulina's head, "I think we should consider putting a portion of the money aside for the school. For one thing," she waved an arm about the room, "the air conditioning is pretty shot, and considering how hot it can get here during spring and summer months, that's pretty killer on the students _and_ faculty. There's also the computers in the computer lab. They're way outdated. Even I," she pressed a hand to her chest, "know that, and I'm not all tech savvy like your friend. Music and drama clubs get really poor funding, as well as some of the under rated sports and clubs. I know football is our biggest draw, but it's not fair to the other clubs to pool all our money into football alone."

Sam blinked, impressed again by the A list. Paulina wasn't a complete snob, only thinking about the popular students and sports. "What were you thinking?" She eyed the woman warily. "Fifty-fifty?"

"I thought maybe forty-sixty would all right. That way your cause is still making the majority of the money, but the school also gets a pretty good return."

Sam pondered over the suggestion then nodded. She could agree to that compromise, and helping out the school was a good cause too. Even if they would be graduating soon, they could still do something to help the future students attending Casper High. "Now that we have that all figured out, I guess we should start discussing how to go about running this and promoting it to get guys to sign up. Tucker will be participating whether he likes it or not."

"Oh?" Paulina smirked slyly. "And I thought the two of you would be going together."

Sam blinked at her several times, cheeks warming with a blush. "N-No! Of course not! Why would you think that?" Honestly, she was surprised that Paulina wasn't making some jab about her and Danny being a couple, like everyone else.

Paulina rolled her emerald eyes. "Please! You two are way more obvious than you and Danny ever were. It's kind of cute. In a way. But sometimes it gets really annoying. Like, seriously! When are you two going to kiss already?"

Sam folded her arms as she turned her head away, cheeks still a rosy color. "Well, if he's not going figure it out on his own, I'm not going to tell him."

"Men can be pretty dense, huh?" Paulina sighed, like she knew exactly what Sam was going through with Tucker. "So put him down on the list of participants," she told Star, who had jotted down notes on everything they discussed. "You can add Dash and Kwan to it also." With that decided, they got down to planning out how to promote the whole prom date auction and other important details.


	3. Chapter 3

"You know, you don't have to treat him like a complete jerk just because we're at school," Kwan said as he followed Dash out of the back exit of the school which opened right into the parking lot. Football season was long over, leaving the two jocks more time to hang out with nothing to do after school. Except for studying, but graduation wasn't too far off now that it was May.

"I'm not treating him any worse than I would Jordan or Peter," Dash argued, digging his hand into his pocket to grab the keys to his car. "Besides, he should know by now that I don't _actually_ hate him. I mean, maybe in freshman year I did, but," he shrugged, "the dork's grown on me since we started the whole tutoring group."

Kwan smirked a little. "You'd be totally screwed in English if Danny didn't help you with analyzing poems and books so you could actually understand enough of them to write the essays."

Dash rolled his dark blue eyes and gave his friend a shove. "My point is, I realized he wasn't a total loser."

"Nothing to do with the fact that he didn't laugh at the fact that you sew stuffed teddy bears and actually helps you with them sometimes?" Kwan dodged with a laugh before his friend could catch him in a headlock.

"You said you wouldn't mention that where people might hear!" Dash's face grew red with his anger, which only made Kwan bit his tongue to keep from laughing even more.

"Hey, it's not a bad thing!" Kwan raised his arms before him in defense. "Anyone that makes fun of you for it needs to have their heads checked. It's really great that you make them for the children in the hospital." He grinned proudly at his friend. "They always look so happy when you come to give them the stuffed teddy bears."

Dash raked a hand through his blond locks as a flush crept onto his cheeks. "Yeah, well, Fenton was the one that had the idea of making clothes for them. Even better when he suggested I try to make them relate to the child somehow. Like the one girl whose father is a fire fighter, or the little boy who wants to fly airplanes when he grows up."

"See?" Kwan nudged the other jock in the ribs with his elbow. "If you never gave him the chance, you might not have thought of that." He grinned as they walked through the parking lot toward Dash's car.

"You know," Dash said, and the tone his voice made Kwan's smile fall as his aqua green eyes slid toward his friend, "you don't have to keep talking him up like you're trying to get my approval or something."

When the sly smirk spread onto Dash's face, Kwan stumbled, his face turning several shades darker. Shit. Sometimes he forgot how observant his friend could be. "Where's Paulina?" he asked to cover that awkward moment as he turned his head to glance behind them. Paulina usually met them after school to get a ride home.

"Smooth, Kwan, smooth." Dash snickered, and Kwan could feel his cheeks growing even darker. "She caught me before third period to tell me she had something to do after class and we should just head home without her."

"Something to do?" Kwan lifted an eyebrow as he turned back to Dash, who shrugged. "What could she have to do?"

"She didn't tell me that." Dash snorted. "You know how secretive she can be sometimes. Especially when she's planning something. She hasn't mentioned anything about what she has in the works for prom yet."

Kwan's mouth pressed thin. "We're not going to like it, are we?"

"Knowing her? She probably has something up her sleeve," Dash said, his expression reading exactly how Kwan felt: annoyed but worried. Paulina enjoyed putting together events, throwing parties, which usually meant that she would drag Dash and Kwan into helping her with setting things up and barking orders when they did things wrong or not fast enough to have everything ready for the start of the party. So far, they were lucky not to get dragged into preparing things for prom, but they wouldn't be completely off the hook until prom was actually over. They both remained tense as they waited for her to eventually appear before them to beg for their help.

"I still haven't figured out why you're bothering to keep up the whole pretense of dating her," Kwan said, shoving his hands into his pocket as he frowned. "The two of you don't like each other that way, and there's no reason to really continue letting everyone believe that you are a couple. You haven't even bothered to ask her to prom yet."

"It makes things easier on both of us." Dash shrugged. "And I'll get around to asking her at some point. It's not like the person I want to ask is even around _to_ ask." He frowned, a distant look entering his gaze, and Kwan knew exactly where his friend's mind went. It was no big surprise to Kwan that Dash still had a major crush on Danny's sister. But his attempts to flirt with Jazz all ended in failure before Jazz headed off to college.

"Okay. I get that it's convenient for _you_ ," Kwan said, brow creasing and mouth thinning. "You don't have to bother being harassed by other girls if they think you're dating Paulina." Their fake relationship only started after freshman year when Dash stopped flirting with basically every woman in the school that looked his way. Kwan wasn't sure what changed in Dash to make him stop being such a flirt, but he wasn't about to complain about it. "But how is it good for Paulina?"

"If she hasn't told you, I'm certainly not going to be the one to spill the beans on it." Dash shoved his key into the lock and gave it a twist, unlocking the door to his shiny red Camaro for them.

"What? So I get left out of the secret?" Kwan frowned, nearly pouted, as he climbed into the car with Dash. "That makes me feel great." He shoved his book bag into the back seat as Dash did the same.

"Hey, it's not like you're so open about your secrets," Dash countered, giving his friend a pointed look. "You never said anything about this whole thing with Fenton. Paulina and I had to figure it out on our own." He turned the key in the ignition, and the engine rumbled to life.

Kwan sputtered for a moment. "Paulina knows too?" His mouth hung open as he gawked at his friend.

"Did you think we were both oblivious?" Dash chuckled. "Give her some credit. She's way more aware of things than people give her credit for. She's probably one of the few people that actually realize that Foley and Manson are totally crushing on each other."

"Not all that surprising," Kwan mumbled as he leaned back against the passenger's seat. "They're pretty obvious about it, though it seems like they're going to be even more annoying than Danny and Sam ever were about liking each other and not hooking up. But I still don't get the thing with Paulina." He lifted an eyebrow as he glanced toward Dash, who concentrated on the street ahead of them. "It doesn't seem like she's interested in anyone. So what's the deal? She's just using you to keep annoying guys away from her?"

Dash smirked and lifted one hand from the steering wheel to tap a finger upon his nose. "Bingo!" His hand returned to the steering wheel as he turned down another street. "It's more about the guys that can't take the hint that when she says no, that's not an invitation to keep pressing her about going on a date. Right now, she just cares about passing all of her classes to graduate and putting together everything for prom."

"I guess that makes sense," Kwan mumbled, leaning an arm against the door as he stared out at the passing scenery.

"So speaking of Fenton," Dash said slowly, and Kwan pointedly refused to turn his gaze back to his friend.

"Why do you have to keep bringing that up?" Kwan groaned, rubbing a hand over his forehead.

"Because you refuse to talk about it."

Kwan frowned as he stared out the car window. "It's not like this is some long suffering crush," he mumbled, and he couldn't even pinpoint when the feelings started surfacing inside him. It was only recently when they were having one of their usual tutoring sessions at Dash's house that Kwan realized his gaze kept straying toward Danny and watching the way his mouth would move whenever he was reading over something in his textbook. "I don't even know what it is. It could just be that I'm realizing I'm-" He froze and shot his gaze toward his friend.

"Dude, you're freaking out about being gay _now_?" Dash laughed, shaking his head. "You're my brother, man. I'm not going to turn away and abandon you just because you realize you like people of the same sex. Just, you know, as long as you don't start hitting on me." He tore his gaze away from the street and frowned severely at his friend.

"Nah, you're not my type, man." Kwan wore a cheeky grin, but it was a great relief to him that Dash was able to joke about it. If nothing else, that told him that Dash really didn't have any problems with his friend being gay. "Anyway, I know how much you _love_ Jazz. I wouldn't try anything with you." He relaxed, sinking down in his seat as he lifted one foot to rest on the dashboard. "But yeah, I don't know if what I feel is real or just me realizing that I'm attracted to guys. And I don't want to, you know, hit on Danny. He's probably not gay, and we have a good thing going with this whole tutoring thing. Why would I mess that up when we're so close to graduating?"

"Well-" Dash frowned as he tapped a finger on the steering wheel. "Talking to him, at least, wouldn't hurt. I mean, you can never really tell. He liked Manson and never dated her. He liked Valerie, but they only went out for a short time. He hasn't been with or shown interest in anyone else since then. It's possible he hasn't even consciously realized that he might be attracted to men. And if nothing else, talking to him would at least get it out in the open and you'd have your answer, whether it's good or bad." His dark blue eyes darted toward Kwan. "Maybe he'll say yes if you ask him out and things can develop from there. If he says no, sure, there'll be some awkwardness, but Fenton doesn't seem the type that would turn his nose up at you and make you feel like shit just because you happen to be gay."

"Maybe," Kwan mumbled. He knew Danny was a nice guy, but that didn't stop him from being scared of actually confronting the other man to confess his feelings. Kwan didn't want to make Danny feel awkward around him if he said anything. Thankfully, Dash let the topic drop as they continued driving in silence.

The passing scenery became a blur to him as his eyes slipped shut. They were seniors with graduation just around the corner, but sometimes it felt like their teachers used that as an excuse to pile as much homework onto them as possible before they were finally free of high school. It made him glad football season was over with, because the amount of homework they had plus having football practices and games would be a nightmare in his mind. Plenty of times during football season, Kwan actually thought he wouldn't be able to keep up with everything, and that worry crept into his dreams at night, filling them with terrifying thoughts of failure.

A face flashed in his mind, hidden by a mask of fine white porcelain with gold accents swirling about the eye holes and along the edges. In the darkness of the eye holes, he caught a glow of bright gold and blood red. Then the face vanished like a wisp of smoke against an endless darkness. Kwan woke with a shout, fear curling inside him like a sickness in his stomach that left him with the sensation of bile rising in his throat, burning it until tears sprung to his eyes. It was only a dream, he realized when he found he was still in Dash's Camaro, but that brief image stayed burned in his mind with a fear that made him tremble.

"Shit!" Dash shouted, the car squealing as he slammed on the breaks. They were on a quiet street, thankfully, with no other cars to ram him from behind after his sudden stop. "What the hell was that?" He snapped his gaze around, dark blue eyes wide as he stared at his friend.

Kwan's hand gripped the door handle so tightly that his knuckles ached. His heart still pounded too quickly in his chest. "I - I don't know," he whispered, barely able to speak louder than that as wide aqua green eyes stared frightfully before him. "I - I guess I nodded off there for a bit." He blinked, forced his eyes to close again. Slowly, he managed to calm his heart and his breathing. He pulled his hand free from the door handle, his fingers aching from holding onto it. "A nightmare, I guess."

"Dude, you only had your eyes closed for, like, a minute."

Kwan turned his head and met Dash's gaze. The only time Dash had that scared expression on his face was when a ghost showed up in the area, though that usually went away the moment Phantom showed up to fight the ghost. Kwan swallowed, scared to close his eyes again in case he saw that face again. What was it? Why did he see it? He didn't have any answers, and that probably was the most terrifying part of that random episode. The unknown was something people always feared.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do I really need to learn this?" Danny grumbled as he rubbed out another wrong answer for his math homework. Even with Dash and Kwan to help him, math still made his head spin when he tried to do the assignments by himself.

"How come you chose to have Kwan and Dash tutor you?" Tucker questioned, and Danny could hear a hint of offense in his friend's voice. "I mean, of all the people you could ask for help, why them? I could help you!"

Danny shrugged then remembered his friend wouldn't be able to see that action while they talked on the phone. "I don't know. It just sort of happened. And anyway, you're not exactly a whiz in math."

Tucker didn't respond right away. "You make an excellent point with that," he agreed dryly. He retained some of the information forced into his brain from the Cramtastic Mark 5, but as time went by, the knowledge slowly faded from his mind. "But why would you go to them for help instead of me and Sam?"

Danny looked over the problem in his textbook again, trying to figure out what he was doing wrong without much luck. "It came up randomly," he mumbled as he wrote out the problem again and tried to work through the formula. "Dash and I were talking-" He stopped, frowning dully when Tucker burst out laughing. "Pray tell. What exactly is so funny?"

"You and Dash? Talking? Like having an actual conversation? That doesn't involve fists? I can't even imagine that?" Tucker kept snickering while Danny lifted his head and gazed out over Amity Park with a sense of annoyance growing inside him. "How did that go? Did you sit down and have a nice little tea party with the scary jock?"

"No," Danny replied flatly. "Dash doesn't let people play with his tea set." He couldn't stop the smirk the stretched over his face as Tucker burst into another round of loud laughter. "Okay. But seriously, it was after one of our runs since Dash agreed to continue being my fitness buddy. He was complaining about how things weren't looking good for him staying on the football team if he didn't pick up some of his grades, like in English, and I mentioned I'd probably get stuck repeating a year if I couldn't pass math. Then it was just kind of like: why don't we help each other out? Kwan had a few weak areas too, so we dragged him into to help round out where we were having trouble and helping him in return. And that's pretty much how it happened."

"Wow," Tucker mumbled, sounding stunned. "I can't believe Dash actually cares about his grades. Wait. No. I can't believe Dash isn't beating nerds into doing his homework for him!"

"Kind of surprising, isn't it?" Danny chuckled as he wrote down the answer he got after solving the math problem. He still didn't think he had it right, and that was driving him crazy. "I was almost in shock when I realized he'd actually been doing all his homework himself. Then again, with all those Ds he shouted about getting and wanting to take out of my hide, I guess I should have realized that from the start."

"So no crazy stories to tell about Dash?" Tucker questioned, suddenly becoming very interested in the whole tutoring arrangement Danny had with the two jocks. "Is the tea set thing true?"

Danny rolled his eyes with a small smile. "Yeah, like Dash is going to let me in on anything embarrassing in his life." He chuckled, but that wasn't entirely true. During a fight with Technus, he came across the stuffed teddy bears within Dash's closet, but it wasn't until late sophomore year that he learned the reason that Dash had all over those stuffed teddy bears. He also knew that if he revealed that information to anyone, even his friends, that Dash would making what remained of their high school career even more miserable than freshman year.

"Man! Think of the dirt you could get on him," Tucker complained. "We'd finally have the upper hand on him."

"Yeah," Danny snorted, "when we're almost to the end of the year? Seems kind of worthless to think about that now."

"Yeah, I guess," Tuckered agreed in disappointment. "So what do you think that project Sam mentioned is about?"

Danny blinked, pausing as he started working on the next math problem. Until Tucker brought it up, the whole project Sam mentioned before classes started slipped Danny's mind as he focused on his school work. His mouth thinned as he wracked his brain, trying to think of what Sam could have in mind. Knowing her, it could be just about anything, since Sam was always coming up with some new cause to support. Past causes involved convincing the school to add more vegetarian options to the cafeteria menu and an alternative to dissecting frogs. Danny actually found that he was unable to dissect a real frog when the time came because he kept envisioning an encounter with the frog's ghost. A frog ghost may not be terrifying, but it left him feeling guilty that it had to sacrifice its life just from them to dissect it. In that case, he could actually side with Sam when it came to the mistreatment of animals.

"I guess we'll find out eventually," Danny replied with a sigh. "She's bound to tell us about this project eventually."

"Yeah, but she usually doesn't bother to keep it secret." Tucker tapped something on his end of the phone. Danny could hear the noise coming through in a random four beat tap. "If she's keeping it secret, I bet it's going to be something we really won't like."

"There's not much helping it though. You know how Sam can be. When she's on a mission, it's hard to stop her." Danny heard Tucker groan, knowing exactly what his friend was feeling. "So," a smirk stretching over his face, "when are you going to finally ask Sam to prom?" Danny chuckled as he heard his friend sputtering on the other end of the phone.

"I'll... get around to it," Tucker mumbled, and Danny knew the other man was blushing like mad.

"You better not put it off," Danny warned. "Sam could end up saying yes to someone else before you get the chance to ask. Time's growing short, man."

"Yeah, well," Tucker grumbled, trying to think of a good comeback. "Well, who are you going to ask to prom?"

Danny blinked, sitting up a bit straighter as he lifted his gaze away from his homework. He hadn't even really stopped to think about going to prom himself. All his attention was focused on homework and any ghosts that decided to pop, which thankfully wasn't too many. Perhaps he owed Vlad, as much as he hated to admit it, some thanks for that. Now that he wasn't making plots every week, Vlad no longer sent ghosts into Amity Park for various missions. He still heard from Vlad on occasion, but the older half ghost spent a great deal of time in seclusion. He couldn't blame Vlad, but he did feel sorry for him.

"I probably won't go," Danny admitted then tried to return his focus to his homework.

"What?" Tucker shouted, making Danny wince. "You have to go!"

"I don't really have anyone to go with. And besides," Danny shuddered as a chill run down his spine, and he sighed, "it would be hard to enjoy the night with anyone if ghosts decided to show up, like right now. I'll have to call you back later."

"You sure you don't want help?"

"I can handle it. Don't sweat it. Anyway, you said you had a bunch of homework to finish."

"Thanks for reminding me." Tucker groaned. "Well, don't take on too much. Talk to you later, man."

"Bye." Danny clicked off the phone and stuffed it into his book bag. He glanced over the books surrounding him and sighed. The math assignment was the only one he was really worried about since it would take him the longest to finish. He gathered up his books and crammed them into his book bag. After he tucked his book bag away where no one would find it, he transformed into his ghost form. He went through more than enough fights in the past to learn that it was a bad idea to take his homework into battle with him. If getting an F for not having his homework completed wasn't bad enough, he also had to pay for damage to school property when his textbooks got torn to shreds or set on fire.

Running to the edge of the roof, Danny leaped off and flew through the area, hoping that this fight wouldn't take long. Bright green eyes scanned around for whomever set off his ghost sense. He almost groaned when he spotted Johnny 13 racing along the empty streets on his motorcycle. Pushing himself to go faster, Danny descended until he flew right alongside the blond ghost. His green haired girlfriend was absent, but his ever present bad luck Shadow lurked beneath him.

"Do we have to go through this again, Johnny?" Danny questioned tiredly.

Green eyes darted toward him, and Johnny's mouth thinned. "You muck up my ride again, and I'll have Shadow make your life nothing but miserable." He turned sharply down another street with a squeal of his wheels over the pavement.

Grinding his teeth, Danny hurried to catch up with him. "Fine. I won't touch your ride. But if you're here to stir up trouble, I might have to reconsider that promise."

Johnny twisted his motorcycle around as he screeched to a halt. Danny drew himself to a stop several feet from Johnny as he fell into a defensive stance with his arms raised, his fists glowing green. Whatever Johnny was up to, Danny planned to make short work of it and toss him back into the Ghost Zone so that he could get back to his homework quickly. The engine continued rumbling as Johnny stared at Danny. Shadow remained silently quivering over the pavement, waiting his master's commands before attacking.

"Look." Johnny folded his arms as he leaned on his motorcycle. "It's our anniversary, and if I don't get something special for Kitty, she's going to chew my head off. Surely you can understand that. I bet that Goth chick gets in a real mood if you forget to get her something for your anniversary."

Danny stared dully at the ghost as his annoyance rose to new heights. "Sam and I _aren't_ a couple." He folded his arms as he floated a few inches off the ground. Johnny only rolled his eyes at the comment, giving Danny the impression that he didn't believe the half ghost's claim. "And why are you searching the real world for something to get Kitty? Can't find anything in the Ghost Zone?"

"You've seen the Ghost Zone." Johnny spread out one hand as he frowned. "Kitty wants something romantic from the real world. So I came here to look for something that she'd like." His mouth thinned with annoyance flashing in his eyes. "So far, nothing really pops out to me."

"You've been together for - What is it now? Thirty years?"

"Give or take." Johnny shrugged.

"So," Danny said, trying to think of what Kitty might like for her anniversary present, "why don't you make things official?" He rolled his eyes when Johnny's brow creased and confusion clouded his eyes. "I mean, why don't you propose to her? Didn't Skulker and Ember finally tie the knot last year? You two could do the same."

Johnny opened his mouth then closed it with a thoughtful expression. "Kitty has been making a lot of comments about Ember's wedding lately."

Danny rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh at the blond ghost. "Because she's trying to hint that she wants you to ask her. She's not going to come out and say it."

"I guess you're pretty smart. For a guy that can't land a girl." Johnny wore a smirk that made Danny frown and resist the urge to fire an energy ball at him to wipe that smug look off his face. "Why don't you finally ask your Goth friend out?"

"Because I don't like her like that," Danny explained with a tired sigh. Maybe back in freshman year he could understand everyone jumping to that conclusion, but now he found it annoying that they never seemed to realize that he and Sam didn't like each other in the romantic sense. "So find her a ring," he said, turning the conversation back to Johnny's problem. "I know there are some ghosts in the Ghost Zone that can make a ring for you. Is it really necessary to get one from the real world?" He lifted an eyebrow as he frowned. "I'm not going to just stand by and allow you to steal one."

"Fine," Johnny grumbled, hunching over the front of his motorcycle. "I promise I won't steal one."

"Good." Danny sighed with relief. "Now I can get back to doing my homework. What fun."

Johnny laughed. "That's one good thing about being a ghost. No more stupid homework to do." He saluted Danny before turning his motorcycle around and speeding off, hopefully, back to the Ghost Zone.

Danny groaned, his shoulders sagging. As much as he liked it when a ghost encountered ended without a fight, he felt exhausted knowing that he still had homework to do. He didn't mind all of the work, as he did enjoy the extra English assignments that Lancer gave him, but the math homework always made him feel like throwing his arms up in defeat. He would rather spend the whole night fighting ghosts than working on math.

"I guess I only have one choice if I hope to finish everything for tomorrow." Danny flew back to the rooftop that he usually sat on when he kept a watch on the town while doing his homework. He grabbed his book bag from its hiding spot. Then he made his way toward what was now a very familiar house to him after three years of tutoring sessions. He found a safe spot, well out of sight, to transform back into a human. After a quick glance around the street, Danny stepped out from the shadows. Then shouldering his book bag, he headed up to the front door. He raised a hand and rang the doorbell. Minutes ticked by, and Danny shifted awkwardly on the doorstep, wondering if perhaps he shouldn't have come over this late at night.

The door opened, snapping Danny's attention back to it, and he blinked several times as he stared at the man with his damp jeans clinging around his legs. A towel was draped about his bare, board shoulders as drops of water slipped down over smooth flesh, following the lines of hard muscles. His raven hair, still kept cut short, stuck up at odd angles from a rushed job of trying to towel dry it. Aqua green eyes blinked back at him in surprise.

"D-Danny," Kwan greeted as he reached up to rub the back of his neck, glancing away. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"I was having some trouble with that math assignment," Danny explained as he tugged at one ear. "I forgot how late it is. I should probably just, uh, you know, go." He started to turn to leave, but Kwan caught his arm.

"Uh, no, it's okay. I mean, my parents won't mind if you're over here to study." Kwan shrugged, but his gaze wouldn't meet Danny's eyes. "I was having some trouble with that French assignment, so this works out pretty well."

Once Danny stepped into the house, Kwan closed the door. His parents sat in the front room, his father reading over the newspaper while his mother worked on knitting. Danny gave them a polite greeting, which earned small smiles and short nods in return, before he followed Kwan upstairs to his bedroom where they usually held their tutoring sessions when they had them at his house. Kwan's bedroom was surprisingly neat, much cleaner than either Dash or Danny's rooms. Danny took a seat at the foot of the bed while Kwan searched through his drawers for a clean shirt that he tugged on over his head.

"I got a few of them done," Danny said as he pulled out his math textbook and notes. "But I'm pretty sure I didn't get the answers right." He frowned down at his sloppy work then glanced to the jock. "What is it?"

Kwan wore a funny look on his face, like he had something on his mind. "I thought maybe-" His mouth thinned then he shook his head. "Never mind. Let me see what you've got." He held out his hand.

Danny frowned as he watched Kwan reviewing his work on the math problems. What was he about to say, he wondered? He sighed, pushing that question to the back of his mind as they both got down to work on finishing their homework.


	5. Chapter 5

Dash frowned, an eye twitching with each beat of the pink pen tapping upon the notebook. He sent a glance toward the woman sitting next to him in his car, but Paulina was completely oblivious that her actions were growing annoying to him. Since he picked her up from her house, Paulina sat in the passenger's seat with a notebook in her lap, pen beating against the blank page as she stared out the window while he drove to their next stop.

"Seriously, Paulina," Dash finally snapped out in frustration. "Will you stop the tapping?"

Turning her head to face him, Paulina blinked then dropped her emerald green eyes to her hand. "Oh!" She flushed lightly as she stilled her hand. "Sorry." She sighed tiredly as she reached up to brush a lock of her sleek ebony hair behind an ear. "I just have some stuff on my mind."

"Care to share?" Dash lifted his eyebrow in curiosity. "Or will I regret asking that?" He pressed his mouth together, not eager to spend his afternoon helping to put stuff together for prom.

"Well," Paulina wore a little smirk that Dash knew he definitely didn't like, "I'm helping Sam out with this little project."

"You and Manson?" Dash couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of him in a loud burst of noise.

"Really?" Paulina folded her arms with a flat glare. "You and Danny?"

Dash snickered one last time before coughing and turning serious. "Sorry. You were saying something about a project? And again, am I going to regretting asking about it?"

"Hm," Paulina tilted her head thoughtfully, "you probably won't be happy about this. The thing is Sam wants to set up a date auction. You know, guys getting auctioned off to girls, and we're going to tie it into prom, so any girls that want a date can bid on the guys and secure a date."

"Sounds like a crazy idea," Dash mumbled, though he guessed he shouldn't be surprised that Manson would come up with another crazy idea, especially after that whole thing with changing the lunch menu to be nothing but grass and mud. Then his eyes widened, and he snapped his head toward Paulina. "You didn't!"

Paulina glanced away, trying to look innocent but completely failing. "I may have agreed to include you and Kwan into the auction."

"Paulina!" Dash shouted, and the woman winced, raising her notebook to protect her face. He sighed as he lifted a hand to rub at his face. "You didn't think to ask first?"

Paulina lowered the notebook to tentatively glance over the top of it at the jock. "It's for a good cause. Sam wants to use the money from the auction for better habitats at the zoo. I did some research about it after Principal Ishiyama asked me to help Sam with the auction. Some of them have pretty bad living conditions, and I think it's a good idea to work toward making some money to help the zoo improve them. Of course, some of the money should go to the school, since the school is involved in this little fund raising event. Having you there, as Mr. King of the School, is bound to get us some pretty good bids." She smiled at him, batting her eyes prettily to charm him into agreeing to participate.

Dash groaned internally. Even if he refused now, Paulina would continue pestering him about it, using guilt about it being for a good cause, to encourage him to agree. "Fine." Dash sighed out, parking his car outside Kwan's house. "But don't think I'm happy about this. I don't exactly like that you volunteered me up like a piece of meat."

"Think of it this way," Paulina said as they climbed out of the car, "Jazz will probably admire your participation in a fund raising event to help the poor animals at the zoo. It makes a good impression to see a guy cares about such things." She nodded firmly, smiling in the knowledge that mentioning Jazz would quickly get Dash to agree to anything.

Dash cursed that Paulina knew about his crush on Fenton's sister. It wasn't exactly some big secret, since he was painfully obvious about his crush when he hit on Jazz during their tutoring sessions, but it made it easy for Paulina to twist him around her little finger when she wanted him to do something.

When they reached the front door, Dash unlocked it and let themselves into his friend's house. Ever since they were fourteen, Dash and Kwan had keys to each other's house. Since they were always visiting each other's houses, it just made sense to them to give each other their house keys so they could just come in without having to knock or ring the doorbell.

"Hey, Mrs. L!" Dash greeted, waving the Kwan's mother as he headed for the stairs.

"Oh, is that a new blouse?" Paulina asked, following Mrs. Long into the kitchen where they would likely start on preparing breakfast together.

Reaching the second floor, Dash walked down the hall toward Kwan's bedroom. Rolling his eyes, he bet his friend was still asleep, failing to wake up as usual when his alarm rang. With a sneaky smirk, he quietly nudged the door open, prepared to scare his friend awake. He froze, his mouth opened to shout, when he took in the sight of the room. Books sat on the floor, slightly unusual given how neat Kwan usually kept his room. But what really made Dash stop in his tracks was his best friend leaned up against the foot of the bed and beside him, Fenton leaned against Kwan's shoulder. Both men remained fast asleep, probably from a late night studying.

An idea popped into his head, and Dash dug his hand into his pocket to pull out his phone. With quiet steps, he walked over to where they slept and crouched down in front of them. Then he held up his phone with the camera switched on and snapped a quick picture of the pair. He grinned at the picture before shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"Hey," Dash said, grabbing Kwan's foot and giving his friend a shake. He rolled his eyes again when the attempt failed. Sometimes, Kwan was like the dead when he slept. Lifting up one of his friend's feet, Dash ran a finger lightly over the sole of Kwan's foot. The leg jerked out of his hand as Kwan jolted awake by the tickling touch.

"Damn it, Dash!" Kwan grumbled, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. "Do you have to wake me up like that?"

Dash shrugged, trying but failing to stop the smirk spreading over his face. "It's what works." He stood up as his gaze slid toward Fenton. "So what's the story here?" He nodded his head toward the still sleeping man.

Kwan pulled his hand away from his eye and turned his gaze to the side, nearly jumping with surprise to find Fenton there. "Oh man!" He raked a hand through his hair. "I guess we passed out last night while doing our homework." He reached over and gave Fenton a shake, who woke with a start, sitting up straight as his eyes snapped open.

"Oh, fudge!" After a glance between the two jocks, Fenton leaned forward, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. "My parents are going to kill me for breaking curfew." He scrambled for his bag, searching around inside it until he pulled out his phone. After he climbed to his feet, he paused and glanced toward them with an embarrassed flush creeping onto his pale cheeks. "Uh, would it be okay if I borrowed a shirt?" His gaze was cast to the side as he spoke, unable to look at them. "I won't have time to head back home to change if I want to get to school on time."

"Yeah, sure." Kwan got up and headed over to his closet. After rummaging around inside, he yanked out a clean white shirt and tossed it to Fenton.

"Thanks." Fenton caught the shirt and headed out of the bedroom.

"So Fenton slept over," Dash said once the other man was out of the room. He smirked at the flush on his friend's face as Kwan grabbed some clean clothes from his closet. "Ah, you two really are cute together." He brought out his phone again and pulled up the picture he snapped to show his friend.

"Dash!" Kwan grabbed for the phone. "You better delete that!"

"No way!" Dash yanked his phone out of the other jock's reach, laughing at Kwan's reaction. "This is a total keeper."

"Dash!" Kwan growled, his face red either from embarrassment or anger or both. "What if someone sees that?"

"Oh, come on! It's not like I'm going to spam e-mail it to everyone at school." Dash rolled his eyes as Kwan pulled on a navy blue shirt. "Do you think I'm that much of a jerk? Or that much of an idiot?"

"No," Kwan replied as he gathered up his things to cram them into his book bag. "But I do know some people at school that would love to use a photo like that as an opportunity to embarrass me if they got their hands on your phone."

Dash frowned, his amusement evaporating in an instant. He knew exactly whom Kwan meant by that. As much as some people believed that the A list was some close knit group of bullies, there was a lot of conflict between the different clicks among the popular. There were girls that wanted to knock Paulina off her pedestal of Queen of the School, and there were other jocks that thought Dash had gone soft and thought they needed to reinstate the whole bullying the losers of the school requirement for being on the A list. He frowned as he remembered one of the nerds, Mikey or maybe Lester, sporting dark bruises just last week. Lancer was furious when he saw the injuries, but the scrawny nerd wouldn't admit who beat him up.

"They're not going to get a hold of my phone, so don't freak out about it." Dash patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Well," Fenton said with a sigh as he returned to Kwan's bedroom dressed in the shirt that Kwan gave him, "I'm at least not grounded. Since I was over here for studying, my mom decided to let me off with a warning not to stay out without calling first again."

"That's great," Kwan said, grinning as he not so subtly watched Fenton bend over to gather up his things into his book bag. Dash bit his tongue in an attempt not to laugh at them. Sometimes, he couldn't believe that Fenton was oblivious to the fact that Kwan liked him.

"Thanks for the help last night," Fenton said, shouldering his bag as he stood up again. "I probably never would have gotten it all done without your help."

"Oh, no worries, man. You helped me figure out that thing I was struggling with in French."

"All right, all right." Dash shoved the two of them toward the door. "Thanks all around, but we should really head to breakfast now." If that was Kwan's idea of flirting, Dash doubted the two of them would ever get together.

"I should probably just go now," Fenton said as they all headed down the stairs, "if I want to make it to school in time. I can just grab something from the student store before class."

"Nonsense!" Kwan grabbed hold of Fenton's shoulders and directed him toward the kitchen where they could smell the scrambled eggs that Kwan's mother and Paulina cooked up for them. "We can drive you to school." He shot a glare to Dash, as if daring his friend to argue, but Dash merely rolled his eyes in response.

"Danny!" Paulina blinked in surprise when the three of them entered the kitchen. Then a hint of a grin found its way onto her face as her emerald eyes glanced toward Kwan. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, hi," Fenton replied awkwardly with a small wave of his hand. "Just kind of fell asleep while we were studying."

Paulina merely nodded with that knowing look in her eyes, and Dash didn't even need to glance Kwan's way to know the other jock was struggling to fight off a blush. They all sat down at the kitchen table and quickly dug into the eggs and toast upon their plates. When they were finished, they thanked Mrs. Long before filing out the front door and down the walkway to Dash's Camaro. Paulina immediately called shot gun, leaving Kwan and Fenton to sit in the back. Dash shared a grin with Paulina while in the backseat, Kwan pointedly ignored them all, staring out the window. Fenton sat there awkwardly beside the jock as his blue eyes drifted around, never settling on anything.

Dash sometimes felt the urge to bluntly announce Kwan's feelings toward Fenton, but as tempting as it was, he held back, knowing Kwan would be angry with him for saying anything. But it drove him crazy sometimes to see Kwan and Fenton next to each other but never talking about their feelings. He didn't know whether or not Fenton liked Kwan back, but he thought _maybe_ there was something there, even if Fenton hadn't realized it yet himself. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part, wanting a happy ending for his friend by thinking that Fenton returned Kwan's feelings.

"Thanks for the ride," Fenton said once they arrived at school and Dash parked his car. He hopped out quickly and headed straight for the back entrance.

"You know, I think by now, you shouldn't make him feel like he has to hide the fact that you all hang out to study," Paulina said, shooting a frown toward Dash over the roof of the car.

"Ugh, you and Kwan," Dash muttered as he shut the driver's side door. But he guessed, if for no other reason, he could be a little nicer to Fenton for Kwan's sake. The three friends walked into school together, and Fenton was already long gone, probably joining his friends to hang out before classes started.

"Oh! There's Star!" Paulina led their little group over to where the blonde woman stood, gathering books out of her locker. Dash frowned at the listless expression on Star's face, blank with bags under her eyes like she didn't sleep well last night.

"Oh, hey, Paulina," Star said as she closed her locker. Her voice lacked any real emotion, sounding bored.

Paulina blinked several times at her friend, her brow creasing. "What's wrong?"

Star shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up this morning, and I just didn't even really feel like getting out of bed."

"I hope you're not coming down with something." Paulina frowned with concern for her friend.

"It's probably nothing serious." Then it was like life suddenly returned to Star's eyes. "Oh! We should find Sam and talk more about the auction and prom and stuff."

"I had some ideas that I wanted to discuss, though I'm not entirely sure about some of them," Paulina said as she and Star started walking off down the hall.

"Did that strike you as strange?" Dash questioned with a frown as his gaze followed the two women. Kwan merely nodded with his brow creased and a thoughtful expression in his aqua green eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

"Man, when did Danny get all responsible and stuff?" Tucker asked as they walked down the hall toward their lockers.

Sam rolled her eyes in response to the question. "We've all grown up," she pointed out then snatched the cell phone out of her friend's hands. Tucker gave a whine as he reached for it, but Sam held it out of reach, placing a hand on Tucker's chest to hold him back. "But maybe you've been to engrossed in all the new tech coming out each year to really pay attention to the non-digital world."

"I pay attention," Tucker mumbled, giving up on his attempt to grab his phone back.

There was an awkward pause as Sam kept her hand on his chest and they stared into each other's eyes. Then Sam jerked her hand back as if burned and continued walking down the hall. "Sure you do," she said with a forced chuckle. "That's why you always need my help with your homework because you forgot what the assignments were."

"I pay attention to other things," Tucker muttered, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.

Violet eyes slid toward him, and Sam glanced him over, noting the absence of the trench coat that he started wearing not too long ago. "Sure, sure," she said, nodding her head. "So what was it that I wanted for my birthday, and what was it that _you_ got me?"

"Uh," Tucker trailed off, turning his gaze away as he rubbed at the back of his neck in thought. "But I thought you liked the Devil Heads."

"Ugh!" Sam groaned. "Not since sophomore year. They totally sold out and started becoming more mainstream pop then underground Gothic rock that they used to be. Since then, I haven't really cared for their music."

"Why didn't you just say something then?" Tucker complained, frowning as they reached their lockers where Danny was already sitting on the floor with a book in one hand as he scribbled in a notebook on his lap.

"I thought it would be _obvious_ for someone who _pays attention_ ," Sam explained, twisting the combination lock on her locker. "You know, since you claim to pay attention to more than just your tech toys."

"They're not toys!" Tucker argued as he grabbed his textbooks from his lockers and shoved in the ones he wouldn't need until later. "Okay. Some of them are, and some of them have games, but they're not _just_ toys."

"What started the argument today?" Danny asked as he tilted his head back to glance up at them.

"It's not an argument," Sam and Tucker said together, and after sharing a quick glance, they snapped their heads away.

"We were just discussing when you got all responsible," Tucker explained, looking anywhere other than at Sam, who felt like sighing in frustration.

Danny blinked at his friend a few times before shaking his head. "I've been too focused on homework and ghosts to even think about the idea that I've become 'responsible.'"

"Are you kidding, Danny?" Tucker gawked, his mouth hanging open in shock. "I mean, granted ghost attacks didn't exactly help anything, but you were kind of a slacker anyway in freshman year."

"Thanks," Danny muttered with a flat stare as his mouth thinned.

"But you really buckled down the next year," Sam said, closing her locker. "I'm really impressed with how dedicated you've been to your studies. I bet your parents are happy about the improvement to your grades." Her brow creased when she stared down at Danny. "Is that a new shirt?"

Danny dropped his gaze to the plain white shirt he wore. "Uh, yeah."

"Dude, it looks like you grabbed one five sizes too big." Tucker chuckled at the way the shirt hung loosely on Danny's body. "I thought you decided to _not_ wear baggy clothes anymore." He lifted an eyebrow in curiosity.

Danny shuffled around his things as a soft rosy color grew upon his cheeks. "I guess I wasn't paying attention when I grabbed it," he mumbled, stuffing his books into his bag.

"You're not keeping things from us, are you?" Sam folded her arms, lifting an eyebrow in a look that said she wasn't buying his lies. Danny had no reason to blush, even a little, for accidentally buying a shirt that was a size or two too big for him. She eyed him curiously, wondering why asking about his shirt would result in Danny blushing. What did he have to be embarrassed about with a plain shirt that was only slightly too big on him?

"What would I be keeping from you?" Danny shrugged as he stood, tugging the strap of his book bag onto one shoulder.

"Oh, I don't know," Tucker said, his green eyes rolling before they landed back on Danny. "You did keep the whole thing about tutoring with Dash and Kwan a secret."

"What?" Sam shouted as her eyes widened.

"Obviously, I couldn't say anything about that before." Danny sighed in exasperation. "If I mentioned it before, Dash probably would have pounded me into the ground. Or at least in the beginning." His expression turned thoughtful as he tilted his head. "I'm not so sure now. He still acts like a jerk, but it seems more for show than anything else."

Sam snorted. "Dash being nice? Yeah right." She laughed but cut it short as she remembered yesterday. She used to think she had a perfect image of whom Paulina was: a shallow pretty girl who thought of nothing but herself and wasting her parents money on silly things like lots of expensive clothes and makeup. But after class yesterday and their meeting about the auction, Sam realized just how narrow minded her opinion of the popular woman was. Paulina was actually smart, observant, and thought about others beyond herself and her circle of friends. If her opinions about Paulina were wrong, Sam wondered how far off the mark she was about Dash.

Kwan, on the other hand - She was fairly certain her thoughts on him weren't too far from the truth. He always came off as a generally nice guy, when other A list members weren't ordering him around to bully the less popular. That had decreased since sophomore year, however, and he never came around to harass Danny. In fact, as she recalled, Kwan ignored anyone that told him to beat up on Danny once they entered their sophomore year. Sam placed a hand to her chin with a thoughtful creasing of her brow. If that was around the time Danny started tutoring with the two jocks, Kwan probably wouldn't want to hurt the person helping him keep up his grades.

Her attention snapped back to her surroundings when a loud bang reached her ears. Danny's eyes were wide as saucers, and there was a slight dent in the lockers just inches from his face. With a terrified look on his face, Danny seemed like he stopped breathing the moment the ball crashed into the lockers. Luckily, his ghost powers didn't act up like they might have back when he first got them.

"What the hell?" Tucker shouted.

"Ha ha! I think he wet himself!"

Sam ground her teeth as she snapped her gaze down the hall to where three jocks stood. "You could have hit him!" she shouted, fists curling in rage. She might not have many reasons to like Dash, but at least when he was roughing Danny up, he never nearly struck Danny with a baseball that could have potentially caused brain damage from how hard the ball was thrown.

"It's a shame it didn't," Calvin said, sneering back at her. His goons chuckled and slapped hands in a high five behind him.

"Sam, don't," Danny said, catching her arm before she could stomp toward the laughing jocks. "It's not worth it. Especially when we're this close to graduation. Let's just head to class."

"I can't wait to get out of here," Tucker muttered as he followed alongside Danny down the hall. "There's not a lot of bullying in college, right?" He turned a hopeful look onto his friends.

"You're going to one of those tech places, right? I think you'll be pretty safe from jock bullying there," Danny said, patting Tucker on the shoulder. He gasped as his shirt pulled tight, collar digging into his throat, as he was yanked backward. Sam spun around with Tucker to find Calvin standing behind Danny. She scowled at the wide grin upon his stupid face.

"Did I somehow give you the impression that I was through with you?" Calvin questioned, twisting the back of Danny's shirt so that collar cut even more into his throat.

"Why don't you just get lost already?" Sam demanded through clenched teeth.

"Or did beating up Henry last week not give you enough jollies?" Danny choked out as he struggled to pry his shirt free from the jock.

The grin fell from Calvin's face. He twisted around and slammed Danny into the lockers. Sam and Tucker jumped into action to help their friend, but Calvin's goony friends blocked their path, keeping them away from what was transpiring between their leader and Danny. Sam worried her lower lip as she watched Calvin hold Danny pinned to the lockers. Usually she would scold him for misusing his powers, but right now, she wanted Danny to just blast Calvin in the face for being such a jerk.

"So you think you're a funny man." Calvin sneered with his face right in front of Danny, who glared evenly back, not cowed by Calvin's show of intimidation.

"At least I don't think I'm some big bad going around beating up on everyone in the school," Danny retorted with a snort. "Are you _trying_ to get kicked out of school before graduation? Because you're doing a really good job of heading down that road."

"You!" Calvin growled as he drew back a fist.

Sam held her breath waiting for Danny to do _something_ before Calvin could punch him, but Danny merely stood there with that even glare still on his face, not even blinking at the thought of the coming punch. She tried to push her way past the other jocks, but the one standing before her with his dark brown hair slicked back with far too much grease wouldn't let her pass him and get to her friend.

"Hey!"

At the shout, Sam stopped and blinked as she gazed past where Calvin stilled, his fist inches from slamming into Danny's face. Even the two jocks turned around to see the woman coming down the hall. They gulped, paling slightly, when they saw Paulina stomping toward their gathering, with Star following a step behind her. They apparently didn't want to tangle with the reigning queen of the school because they quickly turned tail and fled like cowering idiots.

"What do you want?" Calvin demanded, and though he dropped his arm to his side, he still held Danny pinned to the lockers, refusing to release the raven haired man.

"You hurt Danny," Paulina said in voice so cold that Sam felt a chill run through her, "and I'll repay the favor in full." She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her emerald eyes in a look that could probably make some of the ghosts Danny faced flee for their afterlives. Sam, once again, found herself impressed with this different side of Paulina that she was seeing.

"You think I'm scared of Dash and Kwan?" Calvin snorted. "Those two have gone soft. I could probably knock them both out with my arms tied behind my back."

"Wow," Star said in a dull voice as she rolled her eyes. "You think Paulina needs to rely on Dash and Kwan to save her from idiots?" She shook her head and seemed to be holding back a laugh. "Her dad could crush you between his thumb and forefinger. Do you really think he wouldn't make sure his daughter could handle herself in a fight?"

Sam didn't know if Star was exaggerating or not, but that stern, determined glare on Paulina's face exuded a confidence that made the Goth woman believe that Paulina just might actually be capable of crushing the jock without even breaking a sweat in the process. A front like that could go a long way to driving back an opponent if they fell into believing that she was a strong, trained fighter, and it was no wonder to Sam now why the other two jocks fled the first moment they saw that anger in Paulina's eyes.

"Whatever," Calvin muttered as he stepped back, releasing his hold on Danny. "I don't have time for this." He headed down the hall, and even though Paulina moved out of his way, he still rammed his shoulder into her as he passed. Paulina took a single step back but stood strong after that, refusing to stumble and show any hint of weakness before the jock.

"Thanks, Paulina," Danny said as he stood up straight, tugging his shirt forward so that the collar wasn't tightly wrapped around his throat anymore.

Paulina shook her head, turning a smile onto him. "Don't mention it."

"Wow," Tucker breathed out in amazement, and Sam frowned, mouth pressing thin as she turned a glare on him. "Could you really kick his ass?"

Paulina lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "It's not a lie that my papa taught me a few things growing up, but I don't know that I could really take him on."

"Well, he must have believed you could if he walked away," Sam said, but then her brow furrowed as she stared at the other woman. "But what brings you here? Shouldn't you be off hanging out with Dash and Kwan or something?"

"We thought we would catch you before class to discuss some stuff about, you know," Star said.

"About what?" Tucker asked, glancing from Paulina and Star to Sam and back again. "Wait. Why are you working with them? Am I the only one not hanging out secretly with the A list?" He frowned with a look that said he felt left out of the group.

"It's not like we're friends or anything." Star wrinkled her nose at the techno geek.

"We're just working on a little project is all." Paulina shrugged as she walked over to grab hold of Sam's arm and pull her along down the hall.

"The more she stays secretive about it, the more I worry about what it is," Danny told Tucker.

"So here's the thing," Paulina said as she walked on one side of Sam, and Star on the other side had a pad of paper out and a pen at the ready to jot down notes. "While we might get a few guys to join in, the likelihood of raking in a lot of money is pretty slim. I mean, I know I could ask my papa to give me a few hundred dollars, but not everyone is going to be able to do that. Some people don't come from wealthy families, and others aren't going to want to throw away that much money, even if it's for a good cause and a date to the prom. I was thinking we should do something more if we really want to get a decent amount of money, both for the zoo and the school."

"What thoughts did you have?" Sam felt her mind spinning as she listened to Paulina. The other woman was putting a lot more thought into this than Sam would have imagined her doing the day before yesterday.

"Well, I thought maybe we could have an auction type thing for the parents. And I don't mean another date like thing," Paulina said hurriedly before Sam could even get a word into the conversation. "It should be something school involved, like-" She paused for a moment to think then clapped her hands together in excitement. "Like we could get some of the art students to put together paintings and sculptures and stuff to be auctioned off. Or some people that sew stuff. Quilts always seem to be a bigger seller."

"You're really getting into this, aren't you?" Sam asked, shaking her head in amazement that Paulina was coming up with so many ideas for how to raise money.

"I don't believe in doing something only halfway," Paulina answered as she brushed back some of her hair. "That's what my mama always said. If I'm going to do something, I should stick with it and do the very best that I can with it."

"Well, I really appreciate that you're going through all this trouble to help," Sam said, truly meaning it.

"It's for a good cause, after all." Paulina paused in front of a classroom door. "After school, we should hit up the artsy people and talk to them about setting up that auction too."

Sam nodded. "Then I'll you after school." She waved to the other two before she headed off to her first class. When she first discovered that Paulina would be helping her, Sam thought it would turn out to be a nightmare. Now she was really glad to have Paulina as the one helping her put together the auction.


	7. Chapter 7

"I can't believe it!" Tucker threw his arms up in the air as he walked along side Danny. "You hang out with Dash and Kwan. Sam hangs out with Paulina and Star. Why am I the only one that isn't hanging out with people on the A list?"

"It's not like I'm hanging out with them for fun," Danny said, shrugging. Though oddly enough, he had to admit that it was sometimes fun hanging out with Kwan and Dash while they studied. Somehow, even when it was boring old math that gave him a headache, Danny enjoyed spending time with Kwan last night. Sometimes to break up the monotony of working on math problems and writing things out in French, Kwan would do impressions of some of the teachers, and they were pretty funny.

"We're not," Tucker frowned as he glanced toward Danny, "drifting apart, are we?" Worry shone in his green eyes.

"Don't be crazy!" Danny patted his friend on the shoulder. "Do you really think they're going to replace you and Sam as my best friends? Dash might not be as much of a jerk anymore, and Kwan's always been nice, but _you_ ," he squeezed Tucker's shoulder and gave him a little shake, "will always be my best bro."

"Thanks." Tucker hugged an arm around Danny's shoulders. "But you know," he frowned again, "with graduation and then going to college in the fall, we don't have a lot of time to hang out before we go our separate ways."

"Well, it's not like we won't ever see each other again. There's summer. And we'll keep in touch." Danny stopped in the middle of the hall, holding onto both of Tucker's shoulders. "We shall make a point of it. Even if it's just once a day to tell each other something stupid that happened that day, we shall talk to each other and make sure we don't lose touch."

Determination burned in Tucker's eyes. "That's a promise!" They slapped right hands up high and left hands down low, then pounded fists, bumped hips, spun around, snapped fingers, and ended with their index fingers pointing at each other. "Do you think we're too old for secret handshakes?" He frowned as they started walking down the hall again.

"No way! It's totally cool." Danny grinned widely. "See you at lunch!" He waved to Tucker before heading into his first class of the day.

"Now I know where she gets it."

Danny turned to find Valerie standing by the door to their history class. "Gets what?" His brow creased as they walked to their desks. They had sat next to each other in history class since the beginning of the year.

Sometimes, it seemed strange to him that they could get along so well together after Valerie spent most of their freshmen year hating him and wanting to capture, and potential kill, his ghost half. Now they were friends, or at least, in Danny's mind they were friends. Valerie kept her ghost hunting mostly to Emerston, and from what Danny knew, she left the peaceful ghosts alone and only went after the violent ones that were causing trouble now. He was happy to see that she let go of her anger over what happened with her father losing his job.

"That whole dork handshake thing," Valerie said, shaking her head. "She tries to get me to do that sometimes."

The corner of his mouth tugged upward. "You totally do the handshake with her." Danny tried not to laugh when Valerie sent him a scowling glare. "Aw, come on! It's cool!"

Valerie groaned as she rubbed her head. "Sometimes, the two of you share too many similarities. She says that exact same thing when I say no."

"Can't be helped." Danny shrugged as he got out his notebook and textbook. "She is my clone after all. We're bound to share a few traits in common. But hey, we're not completely the same."

"True." Valerie nodded, and a smirk cut across her face. "She's a lot more fun."

"Hey!" Danny protested with a pout. "I can be fun."

"Sure you can." Valerie smiled, but her tone had that insincere quality of someone agreeing to a child who didn't know any better. She ignored his icy glare as she leaned over the aisle, balancing with one hand on his desk. "So," she said slowly, eyebrows lifting in curiosity, "want to explain why you're wearing one of Kwan's shirts?"

Danny spluttered at the question, feeling warmth creeping into his cheeks much like when Tucker and Sam asked about the too large shirt. "What? It's not!"

Valerie reached up with her free hand and tugged at the collar. "Then why does it have this splash of blue nail polish that split on it?" She gave him that deadpanned look of not buying his lies as she showed him the stain.

"It's-"

"Mr. Fenton, Ms. Gray, I would appreciate it if you would be so kind as to direct your attention back to class," their teacher Mr. Donovan said, his mouth thinning into a rather unhappy frown as he glared at the pair. He was a fairly young teacher, still having most of his blond hair and mustache growing on his upper lip. Some of the women in the class thought he was dreamy, but Danny didn't really see it.

Valerie quickly drew herself back across the aisle to sit upright, giving the teacher her full attention. Or at least until the teacher turned back around to the board. She dropped her attention to her notebook and scribbled something out on the page. Then as quietly as she could, she ripped a strip from the page of the notebook. After folding it three times, she checked that the teacher wasn't looking then tossed it onto Danny's desk.

Frowning, Danny picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it to read what Valerie wrote.

_Smells nice, doesn't it?_

Danny stared at the winking face at the end of the question. Trying to be discreet about it, he tugged up the collar of the shirt and gave it a sniff. It did have a fairly pleasant smell to it, like coconut vanilla with a hint of leather. He paused, the shirt slipping from his grasp as he realized what he was doing. Another note hit his desk. His brow creased as he picked it up to read the new message.

_Did you two have fun last night?_

Danny snapped his head around, eyes growing wide. He picked up his pen to write a note back, so that he didn't draw their teacher's attention to them again. But before he could write anything beyond "It's not," a third not fell onto his desk. His teeth clenched as he unfolded it to read what Valerie had to say next.

_Hey, it's okay if you're bisexual. If your clone is, it's not surprising that you would be too. And there's nothing wrong with it if you are. Kwan's a great guy. You'd be cute together_.

His face felt like it was on fire with the blush that exploded onto his face after he read the note. His gaze stuck on the last line, and his insides seemed to twist. He would be cute together with Kwan? He really hadn't even had time to sit and think about liking anyone while trying keep his grades up so that he could graduation and get into a good college. Even if he was already accepted to a college and graduation wasn't long off, he didn't think he should just slack off now. He could rest once summer came. But it wasn't like Kwan was a bad guy or anything. He was nice and always tried to make Danny feel welcomed, especially at the beginning when they first started tutoring each other, and Dash. He was smarter than most people gave him credit for, excelling in math, science, and anything to do with computers. He was fun to chat with and liked watching the same type of movies that Danny did. But Danny hadn't really stopped to consider him as anything beyond being friends. A fourth note dropping onto his desk distracted him from his thoughts.

The note read: _So what really happened?_

Danny wrote out his message under it. _Nothing. I went over to house last night because I needed help with math, and I ended up falling asleep_. They were so caught up in studying, and the occasional goofing off, that he forgot about calling his parents to let them know where he was. If they tried to call him, he missed the calls, which wasn't surprising when he realized his phone was set to vibrate and was sitting at the bottom of his bag the next morning. _I borrowed the shirt because I didn't want to show up to school with them while wearing the same shirt from yesterday_. After folding the note, he tossed it back to Valerie.

Danny focused his attention on taking notes about the lecture their teacher was giving, but he only got about a minute before another note turned up on his desk.

_Aw man! I wish I had been there! I bet you two would look adorable sleeping next to each other!_

Danny didn't think his face could burn any hotter with the blush on his face. He chanced a glance toward Valerie, but she was facing the board, jotting down notes with a tiny smirk on her face. Sometimes, Danny thought it was easier to deal with her when she was trying to kill him. He scribbled out a reply. _Probably not as cute as you and Elle. By the way, how is she? I haven't heard from her in a while_.

After returning the note to her, Danny returned to the lesson. History wasn't one of his favorite subjects, but he didn't feel as stressed out about letting his attention stray for a bit during class. He would much rather be sitting in English class though, or any class talking about space and the stars. As expected, a few minutes later, he received another note. His eyes grew wide at what was written next on the paper.

"What?" Danny jerked his head up and gawked at Valerie.

"Something you'd like to share with the class, Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Donovan questioned with a sour expression upon his face, not pleased to have his lecture interrupted.

"No, Sir," Danny responded promptly. Mr. Donovan narrowed his eyes but then returned back to teaching the class. Danny had trouble concentrating for the remainder of class, leaving the topic of the last note for after class when they could speak uninterrupted. As soon as the bell rang and everyone started packing up their things, Danny caught Valerie by the arm before she could leave. "What do you mean she went to see Vlad?" he demanded in a whisper.

"Well, you know, after your _mom_ basically ripped out his heart and crushed it in her hand, he's kind of not been himself," Valerie reminded, making Danny cringe at the memory of his mother shouting at Vlad the last time he dared to show his face to Danny's parents. Maddie didn't exactly go easy on him, telling him that she was never going to love a scheming sleaze ball and to never come around to their house again. Danny felt a bit bad for Vlad, even after all the crap he pulled in the past. The older half ghost's expression just looked so crushed after Maddie finished yelling at him. But it was because of the schemes he pulled in the past that Danny understood why his mother reacted that way. He could also understand why Valerie could forgive him for using her. In a time when she was angry and bitter and looking to release that rage, Vlad gave her a purpose and the mains to achieve revenge, though Danny wasn't too happy about that at the time. Vlad gave her a job, which helped with her father making much less money after the whole Cujo incident.

"So she went up there just to check on him?" Danny frowned, worried for his "cousin."

"Despite all the shit that happened, he is, in a way, still her father." Valerie pulled her book bag onto her shoulders and led the way out of the classroom. "He might have treated her like crap, but there's still that bond that I think she really hopes they can forge into something stronger now. Part of me really didn't want her to go, but," she halted and turned to Danny with a frown and her brow creased, "I didn't think it was right to stop her from trying. If they can heal their wounds, it might be really good for the both of them. I lost my mom. I know what it's like to wish so badly to have that connection with someone you've lost. But Vlad's still here. She can be with him and have that father figure. If Vlad can open himself up to see her as his daughter."

"For Elle's sake, I really hope it works out between them." Danny still didn't like the idea of it, and he understood perfectly why Elle wouldn't say anything about it to him. She knew he would stop her if she told him what she was planning. "I just feel like it'll only turn out badly, and Elle's going to pay for it with feeling even more hurt because of him."

"I know." Valerie sighed, dropping her gaze. "But if we don't let her do this, it's going to be something that she always wonders about. She'll always have that want to see Vlad again and try to reconnect with him. I can't stop her, even if I think it'll mean she'll get hurt."

"Well, I'm glad she has you to lean on too," Danny said with a small smile, thankful that Valerie was a part of Elle's life.

"I just hope she won't need to lean on either of us. She doesn't need any more pain because of Vlad."

Danny nodded in agreement. Then with a wave, they parted ways, each heading to their next classes.


	8. Chapter 8

"So I'm going to be busy all afternoon," Paulina explained as they walked down the hall.

"Did I hear that right?" Kwan whispered to Dash, who stood in the center as they headed for the cafeteria. As soon as their classes ended and they met up at their lockers, Paulina launched into a rambling explanation of why she wouldn't be going home with them after school. 

"Yeah," Dash said, looking no happier than Kwan felt at that moment. "Looks like we're stuck being pieces of a beef in the meat market."

"I," Kwan wrinkled his nose as he frowned, "don't think I like the idea of that. Can I pass?"

"And leave me there alone?"

"No!" Paulina stamped her foot firmly and glared with determination at Kwan. "You have to participate! It's for a good cause!"

"Yeah, but-" Kwan sighed, knowing there wasn't much point in arguing with Paulina. He wasn't really looking forward to the whole prom thing, though his friends were bound to drag him to it anyway. Even if he managed to get a date for it, how was he supposed to enjoy himself going with just some random woman? Now he was going to be offered up for women to bid on him and forced to go to prom with whomever won him. That didn't sound any more fun to him.

"Don't worry about it." Dash slapped a hand to his friend's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You're a catch. I'm sure you'll rake in a nice sum of money."

"Yeah," Kwan mumbled, "sure." Dash was likely to be the real money draw of the action, since he was the most popular guy at Casper High. Kwan wasn't so sure that he would receive the same frenzy of bids that his friend would.

"There's still so much to work out!" Paulina said with that gleam of excitement in her eyes as they entered the cafeteria and got in line to get their lunches. "We need to do some advertising and pick out a night to hold the auction. It's got to be in enough time for everyone to coordinate with each other. Oh!" Her eyes lit up suddenly as an idea hit her. "Dresses! Everything about prom is pretty expensive. Buying the tickets, people who rent limos, dresses are a huge expense. We could have some handmade dresses up for auction for those that are looking for a good deal on a dress if they can't afford one from a store."

"I think we've lost her," Dash muttered as he held out his tray for the lunch lady to drop the mess of sloppy Joe onto it.

"Well, I guess we knew eventually she'd drag us into whatever she was planning." Kwan sighed as he followed along after his friends. He skipped over something gray and mushy, and quite possibly still alive from the way it bubbled and moved. Most of the food at the cafeteria was edible. Then there was the questionable stuff that had possible gained sentience over time. With all the ghosts running around Amity Park, Kwan wouldn't be all that surprised if their presence caused some sort of mutation to organic matter.

"You think I'm scared of you!"

The shout stopped nearly all conversation in the cafeteria, and Kwan craned around Dash to glance up the line to the person who caused the commotion. His jaw almost dropped open as he gawked at the scrawny, wiry limbed nerd with thick glasses that had a habit of slipping down the long slant of his nose. He had terribly crooked teeth that his braces seemed to have done little to help. His brown hair was slicked over to one side, but there was a stubborn lock that remained standing up no matter how much grease the man used. Kwan almost fell right over when the brown haired nerd flipped the tray of the jock standing in front of him, splattering the bigger man with sloppy Joe. The jock Tony could only stand there with a look of utter shock on his face, matching the expression of virtually everyone else in the cafeteria.

"You want to go? Let's go!" The nerd raised his hands, balled up in fists, before him as if ready to start a fight with Tony, who could probably crush the nerd's narrow frame in one hand.

"Mr. Parker!" Lancer barked as he crossed through the cafeteria to where the nerd and jock were causing a scene. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Sir, I swear all I did was bump into him by accident," Tony said, still seeming horribly confused by what happened.

"Accident, sure!" Parker nodded, rolling his brown eyes in that way of someone not believing the other man.

"I apologized!" Tony argued, turning from bafflement to anger. "You're the one that flipped the tray looking for a fight."

"Enough!" Lancer shouted over them. "You two," he pointed at the pair, "with me. Now!" He walked toward the exit of the cafeteria with Tony and Parker following him. The whole of the cafeteria watched them go in silence until the door swung shut behind them. Then everyone exploded into murmurs over what happened.

"What was _that_?"

Kwan turned to see Danny standing beside him with his two friends. "No idea," he said, shaking his head. He doubted anyone knew what possibly spurred Parker into reacting that way.

"Oh, Sam!" Paulina grabbed hold of the Goth woman's arm. "I've got some ideas to talk to you about."

"I'll wait for you by the door. Then we can find some place quiet to talk about it," Sam said, nodding her head.

"Are you ever going to tell us what the two of you are plotting?" Tucker demanded with a frown.

"Eventually." Sam smirked deviously.

Kwan lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Sam was keeping the whole auction thing secret from her friends? He thought the three friends shared everything with each other, but perhaps Sam thought springing it on them at the minute to make it impossible for them to back out of participating in the auction. Kwan was tempted to tell the other two men, just so that they wouldn't be blindsided when the auction came. On the other hand, Sam could be scary when angered.

The line moved, and Kwan followed his friends closer to the end of the line. Danny waved to Sam as she went to wait for Paulina. Then he and Tucker went to find an empty table to sit at and eat their lunch. The cafeteria remained abuzz with rumors over the scene between Tony and Parker. Kwan overhead someone mention the possibility of Parker being taken over by pod people, like in some science fiction movie. He snorted at that idea. A ghost possession was much more likely than the possibility that pod people really existed.

Once they had their lunch, they bid farewell to Paulina, who hurried to meet up with Sam to talk more about the auction. It was strange seeing those two getting along so well, especially since they butted heads quite often in the past. But people would think it strange that Dash could get along with Danny after all the bullying that Dash did in the past. Bullying was always his least favorite aspect of being a jock. Kwan walked with Dash, but instead heading for their usual table with the rest of the football jocks, Dash led the way over to the table Danny and Tucker sat across from each other, laughing over something.

"Uh, what are we doing?" Kwan nearly stumbled over his feet as he snapped his gaze toward his friend.

"Proving I can be nice to Fenton." Dash turned a smirk onto Kwan. "After all, I don't want your," his voice lowered so that no one else would be able to hear him, "boyfriend to think that your friends hate him."

"Dash!" Kwan's face burned as they neared the table where Danny sat.

"Uh, did you guys get lost?" Danny questioned, looking up at them when they reached where the pair of friends sat at the end of one table.

"No." Dash took up a seat next to Tucker, leaving only the spot next to Danny for Kwan to sit.

"Am I about to get pounded into a meat patty?" Tucker asked worriedly, hunching up to make himself appear smaller while Dash ignored him to start eating his sloppy Joe.

"It's cool," Danny said with a happy smile. "I'm confused as to why they're over here instead at their usual table, but they're not going to beat us up."

"So your Goth bud is keeping in the dark about her little project?" Dash smirked with a smear of sauce on his face.

Danny shrugged, poking at the salad on his tray. "It's a usual thing really. She's bound to tell us eventually." He glanced toward Dash and lifted an eyebrow. "Paulina seems very into whatever it is."

Dash shrugged. "That's the way it is with her. She's gets going on something, and she goes all out."

Kwan felt a kick under the table and held back a yelp when he caught Dash giving him a look. His mouth thinned as he realized Dash's true purpose for sitting here. He knew he had a reason to hate Dash picking up on his crush on Danny. His friend was staging this whole thing so that Kwan and Danny would talk, but now that he was put on the spot, Kwan found his mind blanking of anything to say. It was a lot easier to talk with Danny one on one without either of their friends with them. He could feel the color draining from his face as panic set in the longer it took him to think of _anything_ to talk about with Danny. If this was a date, it would be the most awkward thing in the world.

"So it seems like Phantom's been out of the news for a while," Kwan said, grasping at the first topic to pop into his head. As soon as the words left his mouth, he cringed internally and wished he could take them back. He mentally kicked his brain, yelling at himself for being stupid as Danny shared a look with his friend and silence stretched over the four of them again. "I just, you know, your parents were always after him." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dash looking like he wanted to smack his forehead. Grinding his teeth, Kwan sent a swift kick to Dash's shin.

"Oh, well, yeah," Danny said, scratched at the back of his head. "My parents are pretty disappointed that they haven't been able to catch him."

"Why are your parents so gung-ho about capturing him anyway?" Kwan asked seriously with his brow creased. "I mean, he's not the one attacking people. He's fighting off the other ghosts that _are_ causing trouble in town."

Danny shrugged with a frown. "I guess, just cause he's a ghost." That odd look of sadness in his blue eyes made Kwan want to reach out and take hold of Danny's hand and squeeze it tightly in comfort. "They don't really see the difference between good and bad where ghosts are concerned. To them, all ghosts are the villain. If anything, they probably want to capture Phantom and dissect him to figure out why he's such an anomaly to their perfect little belief of how all other ghosts act."

"Sometimes, I kind of think your parents are missing a few dozen screws in their heads," Dash said with a scowl. He, of course, remained a strong fan of Phantom, and he hated hearing about what Danny's parents might do if they ever caught him.

"Well, they are trying to keep the town safe from ghosts," Kwan said, his aqua green eyes sliding toward Danny to gauge his reaction to Dash's comment.

"All I'm trying to say is that it would be better if they joined sides with Phantom rather than getting in his way," Dash said before picking up his soda and popping the top open.

"This is so weird," Tucker mumbled, drawing both jocks' attention onto him. He shrank down as if appearing smaller would save him from a pounding, though Dash and Kwan had no intention of beating up on him. Kwan didn't, at least, and he hoped Dash wouldn't either. Having a friend beat up on his crush's friend probably wouldn't help anything. "I didn't say anything. Don't mind me. Please don't hurt me."

"Tuck, I already told you they're not going to hurt you." Danny flicked a piece of lettuce at his friend.

"Ah! Not the evil vegetables!" Tucker tried to push it off his tray with a fork. "It's my kryptonite!"

"Vegetables are your kryptonite?" Kwan lifted a brow, chuckling at the techno geek's response. "What amazing superpowers do they drain from you?"

"His keen sense of smell," Danny said jokingly. "Although that only applies to meat products." He bit into a carrot as he glanced around the cafeteria. "Though," he chewed over the piece of carrot for a moment, "I do agree it's kind of weird. Not that I have any problems hanging out with you guys, but," he frowned, his gaze drifting between the two jocks, "everyone's kind of staring and whispering at us."

"That's what happens when you sit with the great Dash Baxter." The blond jock wore a smirk of superiority that gained a roll of his friend's eyes.

"Yeah, well," Danny returned the look with a flat stare, "it doesn't look like some of your jock buddies approve you sitting over here with us losers. And I'd rather not have another run in with Calvin before the end of the year if I can avoid it."

"What?" Kwan nearly choked on his drink of water as he twisted around toward Danny. "What did that ass do to you?" He knew Calvin was a jerk and was one of the jocks lobbying to bring bullying back as a staple of being in the A list, while he and Dash had set the example of not focusing on bullying over the past three years. If Calvin was looking to take over before the end of the year by moving in on Dash's former favorite target, Kwan was going to have to have some words, or fists, with him.

Danny shook his head. "He was going to punch me but then ran away like a chicken when Paulina showed up."

"Beautiful and deadly. Someone's lucky to have her as a girlfriend." Tucker smirked nudging Dash in the ribs. But when Dash turned a glare on him, Tucker laughed awkwardly and cringed away from him. "Right. Won't do that again."

"I've decided," Kwan said as he remained facing Danny, "I'm going to walk with you, whenever I can, to classes."

"That's not necessary," Danny said with a shake of his head. "Calvin's a dick, but he looks for anyone to beat up. I just happened to be the target this morning. He'll probably forget all about me tomorrow and pick on someone else."

Kwan didn't care what argument Danny tried to use. He knew quite well what kind of person Calvin was, and he knew Calvin wouldn't simply give up because of one little bump. The man didn't seem to possess one decent bone in his body, and Kwan didn't plan on giving him the chance to go after Danny again. When they finished lunch, Kwan walked with Danny through the halls, ignoring when Danny claimed it wasn't necessary.


	9. Chapter 9

Danny ducked out of the way as a cardboard box flew at him. "Are we really going through this _again_?" he asked tiredly as he folded his arms and floated above the floor of the warehouse. His time fighting ghosts may have become less hectic over the years, but the Box Ghost always seemed to make an appearance on a weekly basis. "It's Friday night. I actually got most of my homework done already. I just want to go home and sleep until noon tomorrow. Can we skip the whole fight thing and you just let me capture you and send you back to the Ghost Zone?"

"You," the Box Ghost abandoned his rummage through the boxes within the warehouse to fly up to Danny and point a finger at the half ghost's chest, "do not scare me! I am the Box Ghost! You, Danny Phantom, should fear my awesome powers over all things cardboard and cubed!"

Danny rolled his green eyes and resisted the urge to sigh out of exasperation in dealing with the Box Ghost yet again. "We've done this dance before. Shall we just get to the part where I pummel you?" He pounded one fist into his other hand.

The Box Ghost threw a quick glance over his shoulder, a strange anxious look crossing his face before he floated a little closer to Danny. "Might I ask a favor?" He tapped his index fingers together with a hopeful look in his eyes.

Danny's brow creased with worry. "What exactly is the favor?" The Box Ghost never asked him for anything, and Danny wasn't sure he would like doing any favors for the ghost.

The Box Ghost laughed awkwardly. "Um," he clapped his hands together and bowed his head, "let me put you away with my boxes of doom?"

Danny blinked several times, wondering if he misheard that request. "Come again?"

"My daughter's in here watching," the Box Ghost explained in a hushed tone. "I don't want her thinking her papa's a weakling." He frowned, shoulders sagging with defeat. The expression on his blue face tugged at Danny's heart because he could remember seeing that kind of expression on his own father's face when he thought himself a failure in his son's eyes. He could certainly understand wanting to look good in front of his daughter.

Danny took a deep breath and released it slowly. "All right. I let you do this once," he stared firmly at the ghost as he lifted up one finger, "and you stay in the Ghost Zone. No more random pop ups just to be annoying."

The Box Ghost stared for a moment before a devilish smirk crossed his face. "Excellent. Now feast upon my boxed up fury!" The boxes around them started to glow with a ghostly aura as they lifted into the air as the Box Ghost raised his arms over his head.

"Oh no!" Danny shouted dramatically, trying to appear frightened by the display. "I can't fight off all these boxes?" He clamped his eyes shut, drawing himself into a ball with his arms crossed over his face as he raised a feeble green shield around him. The boxes crashed into the shield that broke upon the second impact. "You are much too powerful for me! I am just a weak little half ghost. I could never stand against a full ghost and hope to win!" The boxes slammed into him, and he made grunts and groans as they pushed him around and knocked him onto the floor. "I am defeated!" Danny gasped out, pretending to fall unconscious.

"Aha!" the Box Ghost shouted in triumphant. "Not even Danny Phantom can withstand my might."

"Papa's so strong!" The little three year old ghost appeared, hanging off one of the Box Ghost's arm. Danny cracked open an eye enough to take in what was happening around him.

"Indeed!" The Box Ghost lifted his daughter up, balancing her small body in the palm of one hand. "Your papa is the strongest!" He grinned at his daughter, and Danny had to admit it was a touching scene. "Now, we must return home to your mama." He placed a finger to his mouth. "But shh! This shall be our secret."

His daughter nodded, excited to share the secret with her father.

Danny waited until after the Box Ghost and his daughter were long gone. Then he phased up through the boxes with a sigh. He guessed that was worth a small interruption in his night if it meant putting a smile on little Box Lunch's face and kept the Box Ghost from returning to the real world to bother him. A pretend fight was a lot less painful than a real one.

Leaving the warehouse, Danny flew back toward where he hid his book bag. Other than the Box Ghost, the rest of the town was fairly quiet of activity, which was how he ended up getting most of his homework done already. He grinned at the thought of having the weekend free to rest and relax and lounge out with his friends instead of scrambling to get all his homework done for Monday.

A cold chill ran down his spine as he gasped, catching the sight of a blue wisp escaping his parted lips. Danny sighed at the thought of facing off against another ghost. It had been quite some time since he had multiple ghosts in one night to fight. He changed course, hoping to Thermos the ghost quickly so that he could get home and sleep. When he phased through the wall of one house, Danny scanned around the bedroom, frowning when he saw someone from his school. He never actually spoke to woman with long orangey red hair and braces, but he remembered passing her sometimes in the hall at school. Her brow was creased in her sleep with sweat gathering upon it as she mumbled unintelligibly in her sleep.

Danny searched with his ghost sense, but whatever ghost was present moments ago had fled before he arrived. He scratched his head over that, believing there wasn't enough time for the ghost to escape his range that fast. Not unless the ghost was like Wulf and possessed the ability to slide between the real world and the Ghost Zone by opening his or her own portal. He sighed and shook his head. At least he didn't have to fight within someone's bedroom. He didn't want to risk harming the sleeping woman or wrecking her room. After waiting a moment, just in case the ghost made a reappearance, he left her house and continued on his way.

"I should probably be more concerned about that," Danny mumbled to himself as he grabbed his book bag from where he stashed it before heading home. "But I think my bed is calling me." It could have always been a low ranked ghost that appeared like a random blip on his radar but wasn't worth being concerned about. There were plenty of harmless ghosts drifting here and there that didn't even get picked up on his parents' detection devices because their ecto signatures were simply too low to register on them.

When he reached his house, Danny dropped his book bag onto the chair at his desk as he transformed back into human. Yawning widely, he stretched his arms over his head then crashed on his bed. It felt like he had just drifted off to sleep when he heard a knock on his door. He groaned as he rolled onto his back, pulled out a pleasant dream involving waking up after a long night studying with Kwan but in a slightly different manner.

Climbing out of bed, he rubbed at his eyes as he stumbled toward the door. "What?" he asked tiredly as he opened the door to his room.

"Are you just waking up?" His mother frowned at him. "It's already midday."

"I was up studying," Danny answered promptly, combing his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame his wild bed head hair.

"I'm quite proud of how dedicated you've become to your education," Maddie wore a concerned look, "but be careful not to burn yourself out by over studying."

"I won't." Danny nodded. "Um, did you need something?" His eyebrows lifted curiously as he tilted his head.

"Oh yes! You have a visitor waiting for you downstairs."

Danny blinked as his brow knitted in the center. He couldn't remember making plans with Sam and Tucker yet. Then it hit him. "Dash!" He rushed past his mother then down the stairs to the front room where Dash sat waiting for him. "Oh man! I'm so sorry! I forgot all about our run today."

Dash shook his head as he climbed to his feet. "No run today. We got something else planned."

"Uh, what?" Danny rubbed at the side of his head, wondering if he was still dreaming.

"I can't really say what it is. Sworn to secrecy." Dash shrugged and led the way toward the door.

"Not really making me feel the confidence there." Danny frowned as he followed the jock but then he paused. "Uh, I should probably change first."

"You're fine." Dash grabbed him by the arm, pulling him out the front door.

"I'll be back later," Danny called to his parents before Dash drew the door shut behind them. "What?" he questioned when he spotted a smirk on Dash's face.

"You slept in the shirt?" Amusement flashed in Dash's dark blue eyes as he glanced Danny's way.

The blush crept onto his face before Danny could even attempt to stop it. "I passed out after staying up late studying," he said gruffly, shoving his hands in his pockets as he turned his head away from Dash. Did he start having that dream about Kwan because he could smell the jock's scent from his shirt? He shook the questioned from his mind as he climbed into Dash's shiny red Camaro. "You can't even give me a hint about what we're doing?"

"I promised I wouldn't say a word." Dash started the car and pulled away from the curb. "Paulina was very excited about it though."

"Oh no," Danny said with a groan. "Does this have anything to do with whatever Sam seems to be plotting with her?"

"There is a high possibility of that being correct."

Danny narrowed his eyes at the irritating smirk on Dash's face. "You're enjoying this far too much."

"Hey, I might like you, but I'm still kind of jerk underneath it all."

"Not completely a jerk. If you were a total jerk under it all, you wouldn't spend so much time making those teddy bears for the children in the hospital."

"And if you breathe a word of that to anyone, I will hurt you."

Danny held up his hands in surrender. "My lips are sealed." He glanced out the window at the passing scenery. "Where are we going?" He spot a bunch of different shops around, most looking like little independently owned places.

"We're almost there."

After a few more minutes, Dash parked the car in front of a small building. Danny glanced out the window at the sign above the door. Perez Pictures was written in delicate, curving gold lettering on a dark green background. He snapped his head around to give the jock a confused look, but Dash was already out of the car and slamming the door shut.

"What are we doing here?" Danny asked as he followed Dash out of the car and up to the entrance.

"Well, it's a photo gallery, so my guess would be someone's getting his picture taken today." Dash smirked, and Danny could only describe him as evil in that moment.

"What do you mean?" Danny's mouth pulled downward, fairly certain he wasn't going to like whatever was about to happen.

"Finally!" Paulina said with a sigh of relief. "I've been waiting for ages!" She grabbed hold of Danny and started dragging him toward the back. Danny threw a desperate glance back toward Dash, but the jock remained in the front area. "I already got Sam ready for the photo shoot."

"What exactly is going on?" Danny asked, wishing someone would fill him in, but Paulina ignored the question as she dragged him into a dressing room. "I think I can do this part by myself!" he shouted when Paulina started yanking up the hem of the white shirt.

Paulina sighed. "Okay. The suit is right there." She pointed to the black tux hanging on a hook on the wall. "Sam and I will be waiting in the next room." She closed the door behind her when she left the dressing room.

Danny stared at the tux and breathed out a tired sigh. What was Sam getting him into with this little project of hers? He hoped she would give him an explanation after this. He pulled off the shirt as he got ready to change clothes. When he finished putting on the tux and checked his reflection on the mirror on the back of the door, he groaned, thinking he looked like a penguin in it. He left the dressing room and headed into the next one to meet with Sam and Paulina.

"So explain this to me. Why am I here dressed in a tux?" Danny tugged at the collar of the shirt, which felt rather uncomfortable to him.

Paulina placed a hand to her chin as she looked him over with a critical eye. "Makeup!" She dragged Danny over a counter and forced him onto a stool.

"Answers please!" Danny tried to jerk his head away, but Paulina caught him by the chin in a surprisingly strong grip. He huffed out a breath as Paulina rubbed something onto his face.

"It's for prom, duh!" Paulina rolled her eyes at him. "Now hold still. I can't have the leading man being photographed with dark circles under his eyes." She dabbed below his eyes to hide the tired bags.

"And you chose Sam and me for prom pictures?" Danny resisted the urge to shake his head, and possibly anger the woman. "Wouldn't it be better to use you and Dash? The king and queen?"

Paulina stepped back to take a look at him then nodded her head in approval. "Well, Sam and I talked about it, and we decided that we should appeal more to the 'loser' demographic, which is sort of where you fall."

"Thanks," Danny grumbled miserably as Paulina pulled him over to stand before a backdrop that looked like a balcony with a starry night sky behind it. Would he never be rid of that label? He felt like it would follow him around for the rest of his life.

"You know, calling someone a loser doesn't really inspire them to want to help," Sam said with her arms folded as she stood patiently before the backdrop.

Paulina glanced at Sam before snapping her attention back to Danny. "My point," she continued as she positioned the other two, "is that having the two of you featured on the prom posters will appeal more to the unpopular crowd. I mean, sure, I could always use me and Dash," she stepped away from them to stand behind a camera, "but that would be totally expected. I want everyone to attend prom. I want the ones thinking of skipping out on prom to see you two and think that could be them. They can be the kings and queens of prom too. Prom is supposed to be the big dance of our high school career. It's supposed to be the dance we're supposed to spend the previous three years dreaming about attending. I want everyone there, and I want them to have a great time."

"She's really gotten into this ever since she started working with me on the auction," Sam side whispered to Danny.

"What?" Danny snapped his head around, his brow drawing toward the center. "What auction?"

Sam blinked then slapped a hand over her mouth. "Ah, we weren't going to tell you about that." She cringed as anger entered Danny's eyes.

"What auction?"

"The date auction." Sam winced as if expecting him to explode at her. "That's part of why we need to hurry up and get this pictures done. They're partly advertising for the prom, but more importantly promoting the auction where girls can bid on guys to go to prom with. You can't tell Tucker though. I'm going to wait until last minute to tell him about it."

"Am I getting dragged into this too?" Danny fought back to the urge to yell at her for the crazy idea.

"If you do this photo shoot without complaint, I promise you won't have to participate in the auction."

Danny narrowed his eyes, almost expecting to catch her in a lie. "You better stick to that." Then his gaze drifted back to Paulina. "But we only look good for the pictures because of you." He gestured at his face to indicate the makeup she put on him. "Is everyone going to have you for a fashion coordinator?"

Paulina pointed a finger at him with determination dancing in her eyes. "If that's what it takes!"

"I would never believe that this is the same Paulina from freshman year." Sam shook her head, a smile tugging at her mouth. "You've really changed my opinion of you."

Paulina shrugged. "We never really knew each other back then. We probably could have done a lot of good together if we hadn't been so antagonistic toward each other. But we've both changed since freshman year."

Sam placed her hands on her hips. "And how exactly have I changed?"

"I don't think she meant that as an insult," Danny said. "We've all grown and changed over the years. You're not exactly complaining about being put in that lavender dress." It was a strapless number that looked quite stunning on her. If he was here right now, Tucker would probably be drooling over the sight of the form fitting bodice with small sparkling jewels in an intricate pattern over the chest and flowing skirt. "You _have_ been wearing a lot less black lately. What happened to the whole Goth image?"

"When did _you_ stop wearing pants so baggy they practically fall off if you don't wear a belt to hold them up?" Sam countered with a lift of her eyebrow.

"Oh!" Paulina clapped her hands, distracting the friends. "I just had a wonderful idea." She grabbed Sam's arm and pulled her off to the side, out of the camera's range. Then she returned to position Danny to the right side of the backdrop.

"What are you doing now?" Danny wondered if he should be worried about what the woman was planning.

"I'm going to take separate shots of the two of you," Paulina explained as she adjusted his pose. "Imagine it. The two of you alone," she spread her hands before her like she was envisioning her masterpiece, "looking all forlorn. Then your eyes meet, and it's like-" Her emerald eyes widened. "Oh! I think we even have the props!" She dashed out of the room.

"I'm not following any of this." Sam shook her head at Paulina's rambling. "Are you?" But Danny could only shrug, not understanding any better than his friend.

"Trust me." Paulina returned, carrying a crown and a pair of glass slippers in her hands. "This will be great. Danny will be Prince Charming, all depressed at the ball." She fitted the small crown on Danny's head. "Then enter Cinderella." She skipped over to Sam and presented the glass slippers to her. "Your eyes meet, and it's love at first sight. The theme of the night will be: A dream your heart makes." A wide, proud smile spread onto her face at that announcement. "That's what I want the night to be about: making dreams come true."

"Wow, when you get on a roll." Sam laughed, hardly believing how the woman's mind worked. "You really want to go all out for prom and the auction."

"Of course!" Paulina returned to her camera to start taking more pictures to use for the posters.


	10. Chapter 10

"Thanks for shopping at Circuit Central," Kwan said, smiling to the point that his face hurt as he handed over the bag to the woman on the other side of the register counter. "Please stop by again for all of your electronic needs."

The woman opened the bag and eyed the contents as if she expected to find some of her purchases missing despite that she watched him scan each item and place it into the bag. When she was satisfied that everything was there, she snapped the bag closed. Then with barely even a nod, she walked away, heading for the exit of the store. Kwan released his breath, feeling the tension melt from his shoulders once the woman was gone.

"Mrs. Nelson giving you problems?"

Kwan glanced over to see his co-worker Caitlyn leaning over the counter. She wore stylish green framed glasses that matched her eyes. It wasn't exactly allowed for employees to have oddly colored hair, but that didn't stop her from putting a random blue streak in her short, shiny ebony hair that had one side longer than the other.

"Oh yeah," Kwan answered with a nod. "She always makes me feel like she thinks I'm some criminal, quietly pocketing away the things _she_ paid for."

"She makes _everyone_ feel like that," Caitlyn said with a roll of her eyes. "I guess that's what happens when you're rich and look down your fake nose at everyone that has to work for their money." She huffed a sigh, probably happy that she wasn't the one that had to deal with Mrs. Nelson on her latest venture into the store. Mrs. Nelson came, maybe, once every three months or so to purchase something, like a new computer or television or something else. They had a running bet over what she would purchase on her next visit.

"I guess Ben won the bet this time around." Kwan chuckled, shaking his head. "I knew betting on the wide screen television would be the wrong choice."

"You haven't even won once since working here, sweet cheeks." Caitlyn reached over and ruffled his raven locks. "You suck at guessing." Her gaze drifted about the store. "Oh! Customer!" She wiggled her fingers at him in a brief wave before hurrying off to help an older man that was poking around at the cameras with some uncertainty.

Kwan laughed as he combed his fingers through his hair, trying to get them back into some semblance of order. Then he walked around the store to see if anyone needed his assistance. It was a slow day, and not too many people came into the store during his shift. He guessed most people had better things to do than spend their day roaming around a store full of electronics. When he noticed someone new enter the store, Kwan approached.

"Hello! Welcome to- Danny?" Kwan blinked in surprise to see the other man.

"Kwan?" Danny's eyes grew a fraction wider. "I didn't know you worked here."

"Only for about the last year or so." Kwan shrugged as if it was no big deal. He had only told Dash and Paulina about his job. "So," he folded his arms over the blue collared shirt all employees were forced to wear, though he hated it because he thought he looked terrible in the dark blue, "what brings you here? I would have thought Tucker would be more likely to shop around here on a day off from school."

"Well, it's Tucker's birthday in about two weeks," Danny explained as he strolled around glancing at the different products. "I want to be sure I have something ready to give him."

Kwan nodded as he walked beside Danny. "Well, he likes tech stuff, so this is a pretty good place to look for something for him. Did you have anything in mind?"

Danny's eyes surveyed the shelves before he turned a frown onto Kwan. "I'm not very good with all," he waved a hand around him, "this. And now that I think about it, he probably already has all the latest gadgets and gizmos." He reached up and scratched his hand through his hair. "What do I get him? I had this same problem when Sam's birthday rolled around."

"Hm." Kwan folded his arms as he pondered over it. "Friends can be hard to buy for sometimes. I was totally baffled over what to get Paulina. I mean, I know she likes jewelry and clothing, but she can also be picky about it. I didn't want to get her something she would hate. She, of course, would always do that thing where she says she likes it but really she hates it and plans to return it as soon as possible."

"What did you end up getting her?" Danny asked curiously. His blue gaze drifted briefly around as if trying to find something that popped out at him for a present, but his attention focused mostly on the man before him.

"I took her to a concert that she was pretty sure no one would want to go with her to. The band is, uh, kind of underground, and not exactly what the other A lists would consider good music. But Paulina's grown a sort of fond attachment to Blue Blaze." Kwan chuckled. "They were actually pretty good. I can almost see Sam liking them for the dark edginess of their music."

"Man!" Danny sighed out in disappointment. "You should have told me about them. I ended up getting Sam a new pair of boots from a thrift shop."

"Maybe next time." A smirk slipped onto Kwan's face. "Or you could pass the info onto Tucker and he could take Sam. Like it's a date."

"Ah, so there _are_ people who realize that there's nothing between Sam and me." Danny smirked wryly. "Is a date what you get the techno geek that already has all the latest tech?"

Kwan, for a moment, forgot they were talking about Tucker. From all their time studying with each other over the last three years, Danny had to realize that Kwan was pretty much as big a techno geek as his friend. He nearly choked when he thought Danny was asking that question about him instead of Tucker. His cheek grew warm, despite his attempts to fight back the blush. "Well, that could be one option." Kwan coughed. "Though maybe it's better to let Tucker ask Sam out himself."

"That could take a while." Danny frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Though I'm still not sure why they're playing this whole dancing game. Can't one of them just ask the other out already?"

Kwan felt, again, like Danny wasn't talking about just Sam and Tucker, but he knew that had to be only his imagination. "Perhaps they just need a nudge in the right direction." He chuckled awkwardly. "Well, if you think tech might not be the way to go, maybe you should think about looking for something that relates to one of Tucker's other interests. If he has any besides tech and Sam."

Danny laughed at that last comment. "Tech _is_ pretty much his life. Next to Sam, of course." He grinned a little at Kwan then frowned in thought. "Well, there is horror movies. And he likes video games. I think there's a new one he was talking about, maybe, a month ago. I'm not sure if he actually got it though."

Kwan checked his watch. "Tell you what. I get off in about ten minutes. Why don't you call up Sam and ask her if Tucker got the game or not?" He gave the store a quick glance to make sure there were no other customers looking for an employee to help them. "If he doesn't have it, we can hit the game store. Maybe after that, we can grab a bite to eat."

"And if he has the game?" Danny asked curiously, already pulling out his cell phone to make the call.

Kwan shrugged. "We hit the movie store and see if they have any great classic horror movies you could get him?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Danny grinned as he pounded in the number to call Sam. "I'll meet you outside, then?"

Kwan nodded and gave a wave as Danny headed toward the exit of the store, raising his phone to his ear. Then he swallowed nervously. Did he just arrange a sort of date with Danny? But did it count as a date if the other person didn't have any knowledge of it being a date? Or did Danny realize it was a date but didn't mind the fact that it was a date? He raked a hand through his hair, feeling like his head was spinning at those thoughts.

"He was cute," Caitlyn said, popping up beside Kwan and making him jump in surprise. With a chuckle, she pinched at his cheeks. "Aw! You're blushing! Do you _like_ him?"

"That's not really any of your business," Kwan said stiffly as he walked through the store, looking for anyone to help in the last moments of his shift.

"Come on, sweet cheeks!" Caitlyn caught him with an arm around his neck. "You can tell dear old Caitlyn." She grinned broadly, ruffling up his hair. "Were you making plans with your sweetheart?"

"Stop!" Kwan managed to wiggle his way free from her hold. His face was beet red as he tried to smooth out his hair. "You're so nosy."

"So does your boy know it's a date?" Caitlyn smirked widely at him as she leaned against a display case.

"It's not a date," Kwan argued, though part of him really wanted it to be. "I'm just helping him out with buying a birthday gift for his friend. Then we might grab a bite to eat. That's it. It's not a date."

"Right." Caitlyn nodded with a gleam in her green eyes. "Grabbing a meal with someone you like is never a date."

Kwan glanced at his watch. "Well, my shift is over now. Have fun working your double!" He waved, grinning at the scowl she sent him at that reminder. After stopping in the staff room, he grabbed his things, changing out of his work shirt and into a plain black shirt. He crammed his work shirt into his bag then left the store to find Danny, who wasn't that hard to find as he sat on the bench in front of the store's entrance.

"You look like you get along with your co-workers," Danny said with a laugh as he stood.

"Yeah, she just likes to tease me." Kwan shrugged. "So what did you find out?"

"Sam said he hasn't bought it yet." Danny shook his head with a cute smile tugging at his mouth as they started walking toward the video game store. "Apparently, she's listened to him whine about wanting to buy the game, but he spent too much of his money on his new phone."

"Well, at least you now know exactly what to get him for his birthday."

"Yeah, that's a load off my mind." Danny nodded his head in agreement. "So where should we go to eat?" They turned into GameGo, and Danny headed straight for the section where he knew the game would be.

"Well, there are plenty of choices." Kwan shrugged as he followed Danny around the store as the other man scanned for the game title. "Pizza at Mama Mia. Burgers at Five Alarm. Chinese at Express." He scratched at the back of his head, trying to remember what other quick food places were in the mall. "Unless you want to head over to Nasty Burger."

"We're already here," Danny said as he grabbed a game off the rack. "We might as well just grab something here. And pizza is sounding pretty good." He walked over to the register to pay for the game.

"So if Tucker's birthday isn't for two weeks, why are you buying his gift now?" Kwan asked, waiting as the chubby man behind the register rung up Danny's purchase.

"Well, I figure since I've got the time and the money right now, I should get his gift all paid for." Danny smiled politely at the man as he took the bag. "You know, in case something comes up later and I can't make it to a store to get something. Or worse, I don't have the money to buy it." He winced as if that had happened more than once.

"Thinking ahead." Kwan nodded. "Smart." They walked out of the game store and turned toward the food court. He turned over his thoughts for a moment. "When is your birthday?" He realized that, despite being sort of friends since sophomore year, the topic of birthdays hadn't actually come up.

Danny tilted his head as he glanced toward Kwan. "Huh. I guess we never told each other." He blinked in surprise. "My birthday isn't until August. It's the fourteenth."

Kwan nodded as he made a mental note of that. He would have to remember to get Danny something really great for his birthday. "Mine was back in November, on the seventh."

"Ah! You should have told me!" Danny frowned in disappointment as they reached the pizza place Mama Mia. "I would have gotten you something."

"We were all pretty busy at the time." Kwan shrugged, and they waited in line. "I wasn't really expecting anything anyway. It's mostly just Paulina and Dash that come over, and we hang out watching movies the whole night." The corner of his mouth stretched in to a crooked grin, and he leaned closer to Danny. "Dash always brings some pretty horrible romance dramas and then gets all huffy when Paulina and I tease him about it."

Danny burst out laughing, drawing some attention to them. "Oh! I wish I was there to see the look on his face!" He sobered up with a cough. "Though Dash would probably want to kick my ass for that."

"He would have had to get through me first," Kwan said, beating a fist to his puffed out chest. "And Paulina probably wouldn't have allowed it." When they reached the front of the line, Kwan ordered them a large pizza, asking what Danny liked on his before simply deciding on it himself. They ended up ordering a sausage, green peppers, pepperoni pizza. Then they went to sit at a table with their sodas.

"So," Danny said after swallowing a sip, "did you know about this date auction this Sam and Paulina are putting together?"

"Ah, so you found out about that?" Kwan relaxed a little to hear that. "I wanted to tell you about it, but," he scratched at a cheek in embarrassment, "Sam can be scary."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it." He smiled in amusement. "Luckily, though, I managed to escape that."

"Oh?" Kwan's eyebrows lifted in curiosity. "Is there some secret I should know about? Because I'd like a chance to get out of it too."

Danny's smile fell a bit as his gaze slid sideways. "Well, I don't think you'd be able to use the same method. Sam sort of let the whole thing slip out by accident. So she said if I did the photo shoot for the posters without complaint, I could skip being in the auction."

"Drat!" Kwan snapped his fingers. "I guess I can't get out that way." He frowned as he placed his chin in his hand. "You don't think they'll need someone else to do the posters, do you?"

"From the way Paulina was talking?" Danny shook his head. "She seemed really set on this whole Cinderella, making your dreams come true theme for prom."

Kwan sighed, guessing he would have to resign to the fact that he was stuck being in the auction. When the girl came by to bring them their pizza, she let it drop with a splat on the table between them. Kwan didn't miss the dark circles under her brown eyes or the frizzy mess of her usually straight and shiny brunette hair.

"That's kind of weird," Kwan mumbled, his brow creasing as he followed the woman walking back toward the counter. "Francine is usually really friendly. This might not be her dream job, but she's happy enough with it if it means saving up enough money to buy that car she's been wanting since she turned sixteen."

"Well, I don't care!" Francine shouted when an older woman tried to speak to her. "I can't stand this job. I quit!" She yanked off the ridiculous white visor from her head and threw it down on the counter. Then she stormed out of the little pizzeria.

"Very weird," Danny agreed in a mumble, his gaze following the woman with some worry.

It wasn't the first strange occurrence. Kwan remembered the odd listlessness Star displayed and that strange boost of fighting confidence from Parker. What exactly was causing these changes to people's personalities? Kwan glanced toward Danny. Should he ask? Danny always seemed rather embarrass about his parents' work as ghost hunters, though that was more before ghosts started popping up all over the place. But if it was something ghost related, Phantom would take care of it. He hoped.


	11. Chapter 11

Danny chewed on his pen as he read over a passage in the book. His homework was basically finished, but he wanted to review some things regarding his paper that was due Monday for Lancer's class. He knew his work was good, but he couldn't help nitpicking when it came to his English assignments. He didn't want to turn in something sloppy and disappoint Lancer after all the hard work he put in the last three years.

His phone ringing snapped him out of his deep concentration. Danny jerked upright in his seat and set aside his book. Snatching up his phone, he accepted the call and lifted his phone to his ear. "Hey, Jazz!" He grinned, happy that his sister got back to him so quickly. She was fairly busy with all the work her teachers assigned at university, and Danny certainly didn't want to take up too much of her study time. "I didn't interrupt you, did I?"

"Danny, I always have time to chat with you," Jazz said, and Danny could almost hear the roll of her aqua colored eyes. "And it sounded like you had something important you wanted to discuss."

"Yeah," Danny said, drawing out the word as he frowned. He decided to contact Jazz about this because she was most rational person he knew that he trusted, but now that he had a hold of her, nervousness ate his sides. His palms felt sweaty, and his throat felt dry. He couldn't back out now because Jazz would merely pester him until he finally cracked out of annoyance and spilled his guts to her. Taking a deep breath, he jumped into the topic head first. "I think I like someone." He winced immediately after admitting it out loud.

"Oh, Danny, please tell me you haven't fallen back into your superficial crush on Paulina."

"No, no, no," Danny said, shaking his head. "I promise it's nothing to do with Paulina." He was glad that Jazz hadn't mentioned Sam, though with his sister's sharp mind, he wouldn't be surprised if Jazz already realized that Sam and Tucker liked each other. He sighed as he leaned back in his chair and tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling. "No, I think I might like," he chewed on his lip, hesitating a moment longer, "Kwan."

"What?" Jazz shouted, and Danny yanked the phone away from his ear to save it from the explosive response. "When did this happen? You never told me anything that hinted that you thought you were gay!"

"I didn't really," Danny shrugged, "think about it. School work, other than ghosts, has pretty much been all that's been on my mind, except for the occasional chance to just kick back and relax when I finally didn't have a pile of homework to work through. It didn't even really occur to me until Valerie was teasing me because I ended up wearing Kwan's shirt to school. Then today-"

"Wait. Why did you wear Kwan's shirt to school?"

Danny was glad they were talking the phone and not video chatting on the computer. He could imagine the look on his sister's face with her brow knitted in the center and her mouth pressed thin as she glared at him until he gave her an answer. There was almost an accusatory hint in her voice as if she thought they had done something inappropriate together. That thought brought a blush to Danny's cheeks as he recalled Valerie's teasing question asking if Danny had a good time with Kwan.

"I fell asleep at his house after needing his help with my math homework." Danny made a mental note to remember to return the shirt to Kwan tomorrow. "But as I was saying," he continued quickly before his sister could slip in a comment, "today I ended up stopping by Circuit Central and found out he works there. Then we grabbed something to eat when he got off work." Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh, does that qualify as a date?"

"Hm," Jazz hummed with a smirk in her tone, "it could be. But, Danny," and the frown was back in her voice, "do you think a jock is the best choice to have a crush on?"

"Some jocks would probably be a horrible choice." Danny shuddered simply thinking about having some ridiculous crush on a jerk like Calvin or Thomas. "But Kwan has always been nice. Even when he did the bully thing, he was never really into it and always went easy on people. And we've been pretty good friends since we started tutoring each other." He sighed as he sat forward again to lean against his desk. "But that's where the real problem lies, isn't it? We've become friends. Do I want to mess that up by telling him I might like him as something more? But if I tell him and he likes me back, that could be a really good thing, right? But then if he doesn't like me-" Danny frowned, rubbing the heel of his palm against his forehead. "I know Kwan isn't the type of guy that's going to be grossed out by another guy liking him, but I hate the idea of making things awkward between us if he doesn't like me back."

"You know what this situation reminds me of?"

"Something you read in a psychology book?" Danny smirked a little.

"Oh, so does that mean you don't want my help?"

"No, no! I was just being a teasing jerk. Please, do tell! What does this remind you of?"

Jazz stayed silent for a moment, and Danny suspected she wore that sour expression as if she didn't quite buy his sincerity. "There was a thought experiment presented by a man named Schrödinger wherein he suggested the idea of a cat being locked within a sealed box that contained a flask of poison. At a random unknown point, the flask would break and release the poison, killing the cat. However, as there is no way of knowing when the poison is released, the cat can be thought of as both alive and dead at the same time."

"Was that supposed to be some sort of psychology joke?" Danny's brow furrowed as he frowned.

"What? Oh! Oh, Danny, I didn't mean it like that!"

From the panic in her voice, Danny knew that Jazz hadn't even been thinking about own alive and dead at the same time situation. "So what exactly was your point with that whole thought experiment thing?" He scratched his head, still not quite understanding what point she was making. "Am I the cat in that scenario?"

"I really wasn't trying to imply that."

"I know," Danny said, hearing the guilt in his sister's voice. "But, so, tell me what this has to do with me and Kwan."

"Right," Jazz said, and there was still a lingering hint of guilt when she spoke. "Your relationship with Kwan would be the cat. See. It can be considered alive in that there's still the possibility that you two could become a couple. Or it could be dead on the chance that you don't. But until you rip open the box, you won't know which one it is."

"So my only choice is to talk to Kwan about my feelings?" Somehow, Danny felt like the talk with his sister didn't really help him figure things out since he still felt terrified of rejection and ruining his relationship with Kwan.

"It's really your choice. You shouldn't talk to him if you're not ready. But, Danny, will you be happy never finding out if Kwan might like you back?"

Danny groaned, but the question drove to the heart of his problem. If he left it alone to keep his friendship with Kwan, he would always wonder if they could have been more together. Next time they had a moment alone together, he would bring it up to Kwan and hope for the best. "So no big angry rant about the fact that I'm crushing on a guy?"

"Danny, you're my brother and I love you. I'm not going to start hating you or cut you out of my life because you turn out to like guys."

Danny chewed on his lower lip. "How do you think Mom and Dad will react?"

Jazz sighed, and she definitely rolled her eyes. "Danny, I can't believe you would think they wouldn't accept you regardless of your sexuality."

Danny pouted. "I'm allowed to worry over this. I mean, I'm only hiding another giant secret from them right now."

"Danny, Mom and Dad are going to accept you no matter who you love."

"Yeah, yeah." Danny sighed, rolling his pen over his desk.

"And now I really should get back to studying. I have a big test tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later then."

"Bye, and I love you, Danny."

"Love you too. Bye, Jazz." Danny hung up his phone then turned his gaze back to his book for Lancer's class. He hoped that the talk with Jazz would solve his problem, but it didn't stop him from fretting over the thought of telling Kwan that he thought he was starting to like the jock. He groaned simply thinking about how that conversation would go.

After he finished reviewing the passage in the book, Danny made a few adjustments to his paper before printing it out. He organized all of his school stuff, making sure everything he needed was packed away in his book bag for tomorrow so that he wouldn't ended up finding out he forgot something. Then he wandered down the hall to the bathroom to do his usual nightly routine of brushing his teeth and washing his face. He said a quick goodnight to his parents before he collapsed into his bed. Nights when he could go to bed without worries of school work and ghosts were always good, and he managed to fall asleep the minute his head hit the pillow.

It felt like seconds passed since he curled up in bed when he felt a sudden chill down his spine that made him gasp. He groaned as he dragged himself out of his bed. A ghost just had to show up! Danny transformed and walked right through the closed door of his bedroom to float down the hall. He searched for the ghost with his sense then paused at the top of the stairs when he didn't find anything. His brow creased in confusion, recalling something similar happening only the other night. Having a low powered ghost setting off his ghost sense twice in such a short time frame was unusual.

A whir filled his ears like a rush of sound crashing over him before he realized what was happening. He stumbled back a step as a jet of green flashed past him. He kept moving back, stumbling and falling and scrambling to pick himself back up all the way down the hall as he tried to distance himself from whatever shot at him.

It was everywhere. Bright green, glowing in the darkness and dotted with blots of red, the smears of his hand prints lined the walls and a thick mess trailed over the floor. He swallowed thickly at the sight, but it caught in his throat like a giant lump that refused to squeeze through a narrow tube. It choked him, making it impossible to breathe. When he coughed, it hurt. Every part of him was in agony, radiating out from his chest on the lower right side. He wrapped a hand around his waist as the coughing fit seized him, forcing out the lump that lodged in his throat, pushing out thick, sticky liquid that tasted foul in his mouth. Neon green and dark red spilled to the floor, dripping over his chin, and he felt sick at the sight of it. Tentatively, his body shaking, he removed his arm from his waist. It was slick with the same green and spotted red substance that coated far too much of the hall.

His breathing was ragged as his gaze lowered, slowly roaming over his body, the white of his collar, the black of his jumpsuit with the white DP logo on the chest. Farther down, he found the rip in his suit, the tear extending not only through the material but through his flesh. The hall was spinning, his head feeling dizzy as he sank to the ground. His knees banged harshly on the wooden floorboards as his gloved hand hovered over the wound. He could feel the pain, but it wasn't as intense as he was expecting, too dull for a wound of this severity. He could even see the gleam of white bone poking out of the muscle, the bottom of the right side of his rib cage if he was in the right mind to guess.

The sick feeling was rising in him again as his vision blurred. How did this happen? His mind was too blank to recall in detail the events that led up to this. Was it a ghost? He was injured by plenty of ghosts in the past but never this badly that he could remember. He was a good fighter, or at least, he believed he was. He knew he could be sloppy and sometimes he wasted more energy in attacks than he needed to, but he found ways to win. Maybe he didn't always win. Maybe he got his ass handed to him by a ghost, but he bounced back. He regrouped and worked out some way to fight back and suck the ghost into the Thermos. But this? No ghost had cut through him like this. Not once. He couldn't think of what could have caused the injury.

No, it couldn't have been a ghost, he realized. Whatever ghost woke him wasn't strong if it faded off his radar within seconds of setting off his ghost sense. Such a weak ghost wouldn't have the power to cause this kind of damage. Then he recalled the noise, that whirring sound that was scarily familiar to him from living in a house where ghost hunting weapons always seemed to be within reach.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew his attention away from his wound. He lifted his head, fearful eyes darting up to the shadowy figures over him. Even if he couldn't see their faces, he recognized the large body and smaller, slender form of his father and mother. The buzz like a chainsaw sent chills down his spine. His mouth fell open, trying to find words. But what could he say? Beg them not to do this? Plead with them not to hurt him any worse than he already was? The gleam in their eyes that shone through the darkness and the flash of white teeth as they smirked in cruel victory suggested they weren't in the mind to listen to anything he had to say. At the moment, he looked like Phantom. At the moment, all they saw was a ghost. An evil that needed to be erased or captured for dissection and experimentation. Their shadowy forms blurred as they closed in, the buzzing growing louder as they neared.

Danny shot up in his bed, coated in sweat and tangled in his bed sheets as a scream died in his throat. He struggled for every gasp of breath, his body trembling as the images remained burned in his mind. Tentatively, almost too scared to look, he lifted his night shirt, checking over his body. A rush of air left him, relieved when he found not even a hint of an old wound anywhere on his chest.

"Just a dream," he breathed out tired, wiping a hand over his sweaty face. Nightmares like those weren't uncommon for him. They came to him far too often over the years, ever since the accident and he received his ghost powers.

Movement, a flicker of shadows, caught his attention. Danny twisted his head around to his desk so fast that he nearly thought he might have snapped his neck. His heart quickened, fearing that his parents were in his bedroom, wielding weapons they created themselves to fight against ghosts. But what met his sight wasn't the terrifying image of his parents. Danny stared numbly at the figure of a man wearing a dark coat with long coattails that reached to his ankles sitting upon his desk. The paleness of his flesh, white as snow like Danny's hair when he was a ghost, suggested his non-human status, though the horns poking out of his short raven hair was another big clue. A black mask with intricate silver designs didn't hide his blood red and golden eyes. Two different colored eyes. There was a word for that, but it eluded Danny at that moment. The person - Ghost - in his bedroom was far more important than trying to remember a trivial word.

"Such a truly _terrifying_ nightmare." His voice was deep, and a certain gleam entered his eyes when he spoke.

Danny sat frozen in his bed, too shaken from the dream, too surprised by the ghost to react. A grin curved over the ghost's face as he brought his hand to his mouth. Only then did Danny notice what he held between forefinger and middle finger: a glossy black sphere no bigger than a marble. A long tongue snaked out from the ghost's mouth, curling around the underside of the sphere before drawing it into his mouth. The smile remained stretched upon his face as his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed the sphere. Danny couldn't take his blue eyes off that smile. There was something about it. That smile. That-

Danny jolted, struggling off his bed, entangled within his sheets. He hit the ground with a thud, his elbow banging harshly on the ground with a jerk of pain thrumming up his arm. His heart hammered his chest as he scrambled backwards to put distance between them until the wall blocked his escape. His eyes never left the grinning face. He released a breathy,

"I remember you."


	12. Chapter 12

"I remember you," Danny said in a deep growl as he immediately transformed into Phantom. His right hand curled into a fist, glowing green with the gathering energy. The image of that smirk on the ghost's face was burned into his mind, a memory drawn up from long ago that he thought was buried too deeply to be recalled until now.

"It's so rare to encounter someone that's even seen me." The smirk twitched as amusement glowed in his eyes.

A shout ripped from his throat as Danny threw his arm out like he was punching at the air. The burst of energy screamed across his room. His aim was dead on after his years of battling against ghosts, but his opponent vanished in a swirl of white smoke. The energy ball slammed into the wall above his desk, leaving dark scorch mark that he would have trouble explaining to his parents if they saw it.

"That," the ghost whispered from behind him, "is quite the temper you have there."

Danny growled as he spun to face the ghost, swinging his arm around to land a bow to the ghost's head. His hand met with resistance, and he winced as his fist slammed into a hard pane of ectoplasm that shielded the ghost from his attack. Danny gritted his teeth, glaring darkly into the eyes seen behind the black mask. The ghost's expression was blank as he stared evenly back at the half ghost.

"I never imagined this turn of events."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny growled as he stood, still alert and ready to fight, but the ghost kept up the shield in defense of any attack that Danny might throw at him.

For a moment, the ghost merely stared at him. Then one corner of his mouth pulled upward in half a smirk. "Oh, just all those terrifying nightmares about ghosts and ghouls." Red and golden eyes trailed down Danny's body then back up until his gaze locked with the half ghost's green eyes. "And now you're one of them."

Anger fueled him. Danny threw the punch before he even had a conscious thought. His fist met with the hard shield, but this time cracks formed over the hard pane. His fist smashed through it, and the ghost vanished again before Danny could land a hit on him. He twisted around, his eyes snapping all about the room in search of the ghost.

"Perhaps our next meeting will be on better terms." The ghost's light chuckle faded into the night, and Danny lost track of his presence.

Danny growled in frustration, resisting the urge to start firing off blasts to relieve it. The ghost was long gone, and it seemed pointless to give chase to him and possibly spend the whole night awake and running, or rather flying, around town. He walked over to his bed and collapsed onto it as he reverted back to human. Lifting his arms, he brought his hands up and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms.

Sleep refused to come to him after that incident. When he closed his eyes, all Danny could see was that irritating smirk and the glow of those differently colored eyes. Then he would jerk up in his bed with his heart hammering in his chest as he remembered the nightmare that woke him in the first place. He placed a hand to his right side as if feeling that his body was whole and unharmed would erase the memory of being shot by his parents in his dreams.

When he was younger, around six, he would have terrible nightmares after listening to his parents ramble on about ghosts. Danny would jump into his bed at night and hide under his blankets like that would somehow protect him from the scary ghosts that his parents mentioned. But the nightmares were the worst. When he closed his eyes to sleep, he would dream of terrifying ghosts that barely resembled humans anymore. They would creep into his room to steal him away in the night. He would run away from them, race into his parents' bedroom, but in his nightmares, his parents were never there. Nowhere he went was safe, but he would wake up crying before the ghosts could get him.

His parents would rush into his room and try to comfort him. They would assure him that they wouldn't allow any ghosts to get him. But Danny remembered now that ghost's smirk when he woke from a nightmare. It was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes: that smirk hovering over him.

Danny tossed and turned, but he didn't get much more sleep that night. The ghost didn't return either. Danny glared at his reflection as he brushed his teeth the next morning. Next time, he needed to be ready for the ghost. If the ghost could stir up nightmares in people- Danny paused in mid brush as his eyes widened. The night he followed that spike on his ghost sense to the bedroom of someone from school, he remembered the woman with long orangey hair seemed to be in the midst of having a nightmare when he arrived. At that time, he didn't think much of it since nightmares weren't anything abnormal. But now he wondered if her nightmare was the result of the ghost. But he didn't find the ghost when he entered her room.

The toothbrush nearly slipped from his grip when he had another thought: what if the ghost actually entered people's dreams to create the nightmares? Maybe when he felt his ghost sense go off in his dream, it wasn't _only_ in his dreams, but the ghost kept him locked in the nightmare until the fear of his parents capturing him jolted him awake. How was he to fight a ghost that could literally get into his mind like that? Danny finished brushing his teeth and washed out his mouth as he decided he would have to ask around for any information in the Ghost Zone. Skulker seemed like the best choice since the hunter tended to gather plenty of information.

Danny sighed as he left the bathroom. But his investigation would have to wait until after school. Once he was dressed, he checked his book bag to be sure everything he needed was there. After he shouldered his book bag, he paused, catching sight of the plain white shirt with the splash of nail polish on the back of the collar. Kwan's shirt. He picked it up and lifted it to his face, breathing in the lingering scent of coconut vanilla and leather. His fact turned dark red as he realized what he was doing, and he shoved the shirt into his book bag then zipped it closed. The shirt would provide a nice excuse to talk to Kwan, at least.

"What is wrong with me?" he mumbled as he left his bedroom. He wasn't supposed to sit around smelling the shirt of the man he liked, but part of him wondered if he had worn the shirt, maybe he wouldn't have had a nightmare last night. Shaking that ridiculous thought from his head, he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a quick breakfast of a banana that he sliced into his cereal. When he finished eating, he dumped his bowl in the sink then walked over to the door to the laboratory.

"I'm heading off to school," Danny called down to his parents.

"Have a good day," his mother said, coming to the bottom of the stairs.

"And if you see any ghosts, you call us right away!" his father said with his goggles over his eyes and a blow torch in his hands.

"Right," Danny said with a twitch of his mouth. "See you after school." He gave them a wave then headed for the front door. Once he was in his car, he took a moment to release a tired sigh. Thanks to the restless night, he felt more exhausted than he remembered feeling back in freshmen year. After a moment, he started up the car and drove toward school.

It was still early, and he doubted Sam and Tucker would be at school already. He parked his car and got out then took a look around for Dash's red Camaro. A smile tugged at his mouth when he spotted the car parked in the slot closest to the back entrance of the school.

"You look like you're in a good mood," Valerie said as she came up behind him, throwing an arm over his shoulders.

"You're here pretty early." Danny glanced her way with a lift his eyebrow as they headed into the school.

"Yeah, well." Valerie shrugged. "My dad had to get to work early today, so he offered to give me a ride. Not that I really need one, you know." She smirked knowingly, and Danny knew exactly what she meant. Ever since that one battle with Technus, Valerie had a suit basically fused with her being that she could call up and control with her mind. Mr. Gray knew of her ghost hunting, and though he wasn't entirely thrilled with it, he grew to trust that his daughter would know when to step down, or at least call for help, in a battle against a ghost that was too strong. But no other humans, or at least half human, knew about her identity as the Red Huntress other than her father, Danny, Elle, Vlad, Jazz, Tucker, and Sam.

"Any word from Elle?" As close as Danny was with his clone, Elle was more willing to share information with Valerie than with him.

Valerie shook her head. "I keep wanting to fly off and go check on them. But Elle values her independence, so she probably wouldn't be happy if I turned up to act like a babysitter between them." She folded her arms as she eyed him. "You're a sleek one trying to shift the conversation away from yourself."

"I assure you I had no intention of doing that."

"Uh huh." Valerie tilted her head as one eyebrow lifted in skepticism. "Right. So what has you in such a good mood today?"

"I'm not." Danny frowned at her as they stopped at her locker. "Actually, I had a really terrible night after an encounter with a ghost." He leaned up against the lockers while Valerie exchanged books from her bag with books from her locker. "You haven't had any nightmares lately, have you?"

"Danny, we fight ghosts. Hell, you live with ghost hunters and you're," Valerie glanced around before leaning toward him and whispering, "half ghost. We both have reasons to suffer nightmares. You more than I."

"So have you woken up from one of these nightmares and seen a ghost smirking over you?"

"Wow." Valerie turned to him as she closed her locker. "That doesn't sound disturbing at all." She shuddered. "Why would a ghost be watching you have a nightmare?"

"I don't know." Danny's brow furrowed. "I still haven't figured it all out. But I plan on getting answers after school."

"Want me to go with you?" Valerie hooked her thumbs around the straps of her book bag as they started walking down the hall again.

"The two of us together?" Danny chuckled. "The ghosts might go running for their afterlives."

"Hm. You make an excellent point." Valerie was silent for a moment before she nudged him with her elbow. "And there you go again. Turning the subject onto work talk instead of answering my question."

"Sorry." Danny rubbed at the back of his neck. "What was the question?"

Valerie rolled her eyes and parked herself in the middle of the hall. "Really, Danny? Why the evasive maneuvering around a simple question?"

"Am I really that obvious?" Danny winced then glanced about the hall. Students were slowly starting to file into the school, wandering the halls and chatting with friends or stopping by their lockers. When he turned back to her, he frowned. "It's your fault for even saying anything."

Confusion played through her eyes before it hit her. Valerie punched him, harder than necessary, in the shoulder. "You would have realized it without me saying anything."

"First off, ow!" Danny rubbed at his shoulder. "And secondly, I might not have. I haven't really focused on, you know, _liking_ anyone in a long time."

"Speaking of the handsome devil." Valerie turned her gaze down the hall, and Danny followed it, a sense of panic coming over him when he spotted Kwan walking with Dash and Paulina. "Go get him." She gave him a shove toward the A list trio, and when he glanced back at her as he stumbled, she winked and gave him a thumbs up.

With a sigh, Danny approached the three friends, nervousness making him gulp as his hands felt sweaty. Was he really going to do this? Apparently, he was because he stood in front of the A lists, who all paused in their conversation to stare at him. Danny tried to smile, but it probably looked pathetic and awkward.

"Uh, hi," Danny said with a wave and immediately wished he hadn't. "Uh, Kwan, can I talk to you? Preferably alone somewhere." He cringed as he spoke, feeling rather stupid at the moment.

Kwan blinked then nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll catch up with you later." He gave his friends a wave and started walking with Danny down the hall. "So what's this about?"

"Um," Danny mumbled, tugging at an ear as they slipped out a side exit. "Well, first, I have this to return." He pulled his book bag around to the front and opened it to retrieve the shirt. With some reluctance, he held it out toward Kwan. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"Sure." Kwan took the shirt. "Was that all? Because we hardly needed to talk in private then." He chuckled and stuffed the shirt into his own book bag.

"Uh, no, there was something else." Danny shifted his weight nervously and gave the area a quick glance. They were pretty safe of not being overheard. Taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze back onto Kwan. "Okay. I know school's about to start, so I'll try to make this quick. See, um-" Now that he was trying to say it, the words failed him. "Yesterday was really great. And I kept thinking, 'wow, this feels like a date.' But I mean," he shrugged, "I don't know if it counted as a date. But more importantly, really important actually, is if you even like me. I mean, we're friends now. Or I think we are." He winced, feeling like a rambling idiot. "I don't want to ruin anything or make it awkward between us, but I like you." He chewed on his lower lip, staring into Kwan's aqua green eyes as he waited for some sort of reaction from the jock after the rambling confession.

"Oh man." Kwan ran a hand over his face and laughed, resulting in Danny feeling a sense of dread drop into his gut like a brick of ice. "I was thinking the same thing. But I didn't think yesterday would count as a date because I doubted you thought of it like that. And my co-worker was teasing me about you being cute. And Dash and Paulina know that I like you. You know, the real reason Dash decided to sit at your table last Friday was to get me to talk to you and prove he could be nice to the guy I like. But I didn't think you would even be interested in me. I mean, the last people you liked were Sam and Valerie. And I am clearly _nothing_ like them."

"Kwan!"

"Yeah?" Kwan snapped out of his ramblings to blink at Danny.

"Want to," Danny scratched at a rather pink cheek, "go out this Saturday?"

"Yeah." A bright smile spread onto Kwan's face.

Relief overcame Danny, as if a boulder of weight lifted from his shoulders as joy felt like it was ready to burst out of him. He had a date. With Kwan. This Saturday. That alone washed away all fears of nightmares and all thoughts about ghosts with creepy smiles that lurked in his room while he slept. The bell ringing to announce that classes would be starting soon interrupted the moment, and Danny groaned.

"I guess we better get to class."

"Hey." Kwan caught his hand before Danny could turn away. After pulling Danny closer, he paused. "Is it okay to kiss you?"

Danny blinked then grinned. "Of course." He felt a flutter in his chest as Kwan leaned in and their lips brushed each other, almost like they were both hesitating and allowing the other to back out. Danny pushed forward, sealing their mouths firmly together and relishing in the thrill of that first kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

"I can't believe how great everything is going," Sam said as she walked down the hall with her friends. "It's only the first day, and we already have a lot of interest. I never would have believed it, but Paulina really does have some amazing ideas."

"What exactly are you two planning?" Tucker asked as his brow furrowed. He had that look in his green eyes that he got when he doubted he would like anything that Sam was organizing.

Sam laughed nervously as she pushed a lock of her ebony hair back behind an ear. "And all the fashion students are really excited about contributing," she continued without pausing to answer Tucker's question. "And we've got a lot of response from people who want to contribute to the other thing." It was hard, and she doubted her friends realized just how difficult it was for her not to blurt out all the major details of what she was planning to them. Danny was already in the know, but so far, she had kept Tucker well in the dark. She knew that wouldn't last forever, but she hoped it would hold out a bit longer.

"Will you give me _some_ idea of what you're saying?" Tucker demanded with an exasperated sigh. "Listening to you is like trying to listen to someone speak French, and you know I'm just barely passing that."

Sam glanced toward her other friend for help, but Danny seemed to be lost in his own little world as he stared off into space, his mind completely in another place. Her mouth pressed into a thin line as she wondered what could be distracting her friend so much that he didn't seem to be paying attention to the rest of his surroundings. She reached over and caught his arm, dragging him with a hard yank out of the way before he ran into the open door of a locker as they passed it.

"What is going on with you?" Sam questioned as her brow pinched in concern and she helped to steer Danny away from any other potentially nasty run ins with lockers or something worse.

"Thanks," Danny said and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I was just thinking about this weekend." His cheeks turned pink, and Sam narrowed her violet eyes at that reaction. What could be happening this weekend that would make Danny blush? Her eyes grew wide in surprise as a thought came to her.

"You have a date!" Sam gawked at him, mainly because she never suspected that Danny even liked anyone. She hadn't seen him mooning over anyone like he used to whenever Paulina seemed to pass by him. He never got all flustered around anyone or fumbled with his words or blushed so hard that she thought his face would be permanently stained red. She racked her brain but couldn't come up with a single candidate that might be the one Danny asked out on a date.

"Don't go changing the-" Tucker started to protest before the shift in the conversation caught up with him. "Wait! You have a date?" Now Tucker joined Sam in gawking at their half ghost friend. "Since when? You never told me that you liked anyone!" Hurt crossed his face as he frowned, clearly having expected his friend to tell him immediately about any crushes and even more so about any arranged dates.

"It," Danny shrugged, turning his gaze away from his friends as his face darkened a few more shades of red, "just sort of happened unexpectedly."

"Do we know her?" Tucker questioned, thankfully forgetting all about what Sam was saying earlier as he focused entirely onto the new development in Danny's love life.

"Uh, well," Danny mumbled with that awkward shifting he did sometimes when he had something to hide. "I guess you could say something like that."

Sam folded her arms and stared with deep suspicion at her friend. His blue eyed gaze refused to glance anywhere toward the other two in a show of not being completely honest. But what would Danny have to hide from them? He told them everything! Why would he be nervous about telling them something like having a date when they knew his biggest secret about being Danny Phantom? Danny should feel comfortable with telling them anything. Having a date shouldn't be something that would make him want to keep it secret. Sam stepped closer, squinting her eyes at him as Danny's gaze darted away quickly.

"You," Sam's mouth hung open as the pieces came together in her head, "have a date with a guy!"

"What?" Tucker shouted, and his exclamation drew the attention of several passing students. Danny's face turned even darker as his blush reached the tips of his ears. Sam had definitely hit the nail on the head with that guess. "Who is it?" Tucker's question only made Danny shift his weight and tug at one ear as he delayed the inevitable of telling his friends with whom he had a date this weekend.

"There you are," Kwan said, coming up to them to walk along side Danny. His friends weren't present, and Sam lifted an eyebrow at that.

"I told you that you don't need to walk me to class and lunch and stuff," Danny said with a sigh that was only half heartedly exasperated. When he glanced at the jock, his cheeks tinged pink again, and Sam didn't miss the way Kwan blushed in return. She stared at the pair in surprise, noting the way their hands brushed together and their fingers nearly hooked around each other before Kwan lifted his hand and raked his fingers through his raven locks. His aqua green eyes darted down the hall before turning back onto Danny.

"I just don't like that jerk Williams having any opportunity to bully you again," Kwan said, and Sam could hear the concern in his voice. Kwan really cared about Danny and didn't want to see him hurt. If she had any doubts about the jock's intentions, that cleared it away.

"I can handle myself, you know," Danny pointed out, and Sam rolled her eyes. Most of the world knew nothing about what Danny was capable of when it came to fighting. They only saw Danny as some weak man that got picked on by the popular. "I don't need twenty-four hour protection from a bully."

Tucker suddenly seized hold of her arm and gave Sam a good shake. "He," he pointed at Danny, "and him?" He turned his finger onto Kwan, and his mouth hung open in utter shock.

"A bit slow on figuring that out," Sam said as jock and half ghost blushed darkly.

"That-" Tucker shook his head. "Wow! That _is_ unexpected!"

"I guess the whole protective thing is coming on a bit strong, huh?" Kwan winced as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Maybe just a touch," Danny said with a small chuckle. "Though it is nice that you care so much about my safety." He sent a glance toward Tucker and Sam. "Um, but I have something I need to talk to my friends about. I'll see you in the cafeteria?"

"Oh," Kwan said with a hint of disappointment, clearly hoping to spend most of his lunch time with Danny. "Sure. I'll see you then." He gave a wave then headed down the hall toward the cafeteria.

"When did you and Kwan hook up?" Tucker asked, still looking completely in shock.

"I told you it just sort of happened." Danny shrugged and led them down a hall where they would be able to speak without being overheard. "I asked him out just this morning."

"I guess as far as choices go, Kwan's a good one," Tucker said as they reached the end of the hall and sat down to lean against the wall. The hall was empty as everyone else already headed for the cafeteria. "But when did you come to this whole revelation of being gay?"

"I wouldn't say gay." Danny's brow furrowed as he frowned. "It's not like my attraction to girls all these years was a lie. I still like girls. I just," he shrugged, "realized that spending all that time with Kwan studying and getting to know him that I actually liked him as something more. Actually, when Valerie noticed I was wearing Kwan's shirt, she started teasing me about liking Kwan." He flushed and scratched behind an ear. "After that, I really started looking at everything, which is how I came to the whole realization of liking him."

"I knew there was something off about that shirt!" Sam smirked. Danny had flushed when asked about the shirt and it hung a bit too big on him. Sam knew there had to be something more to the whole shirt thing than Danny simply bought one too big by accident. "But I get the sense that you wanted to talk to us about something more than simply your relationship with Kwan." She gave him a glare that wouldn't allow for him to back out of telling them whatever was on his mind.

Danny sighed as he leaned his head back against the wall. Exhaustion showed in his expression, and Sam noticed the bags under his eyes. He hadn't slept well last night. "Have you guys experienced any nightmares recently?"

"Uh, I assume you mean beyond the usual nightmares, right?" Tucker frowned, and the look that flashed in his green eyes was one that Sam knew all too well. They knew Danny was a strong fighter and well experienced when it came to fighting ghosts and escaping from ghost hunters, but that didn't stop them from worrying about their friend's safety. They suffered nightmares about their friend being hurt beyond saving. They feared that one day he would be captured and tortured by ghost hunters. They also knew that Danny had those same fears and nightmares.

Danny glanced between his friends then lowered his head as he picked at some dead skin around his thumbnail. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you have those kind of nightmares."

"Danny, we have those nightmares because we care a lot about you and we worry about you." Sam laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

Tucker nodded. "Yeah, we know you can't just sit back when there's a ghost roaming around town. You're the whole reason ghosts aren't terrorizing the town all the time. But no matter how strong you've grown, that's not going to stop us from worrying about you."

"But don't forget that you can always call on us to help you," Sam reminded seriously. "We aren't just some lame sidekicks that sit back and do nothing. We know how your parents' inventions work and we know how to fight. The world isn't yours alone to save."

"I know. I just don't want to drag you into any fights if it's not necessary. I don't want ghost hunting to become your lives as well. You should be free to go live out your dreams." Danny's expression fell, and he drew his legs up to his chest.

"Danny, we're your friends. We're a part of this whole crazy ghost hunting life you have no matter what," Sam said. "We're not just going to abandon you because of a few nightmares."

"Speaking of," Tucker said as his brow creased, "why did you bring up nightmares in the first place?"

"Uh, well," Danny mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck out of embarrassment. "I had a nightmare last night. But that's not the strange thing," he cut in before either of his friends could ask him about the nightmare. "The strange thing was that when I woke up, there was a ghost in my room. I just wanted to make sure that neither of you had encountered this ghost. I don't know what he can do or what exactly he wanted, but it wasn't my first time seeing him."

"You met him before?" Sam lifted an eyebrow in curiosity.

"When I was six." Danny frowned, an expression of deep thought crossing his face.

"Why is a ghost you met when you were six suddenly coming back to you?" Tucker asked, the same worry that Sam felt showing in his eyes.

"I don't know. And that worries me." Danny stood up. "But I want you both to be on your guard. If he's going after people's dreams, he might pay you a visit."

"Think your parents have anything to guard against it?" Tucker asked as they walked down the hall and headed for the cafeteria.

Danny shrugged. "Possibly. I'd have to check. But in the meantime-" He faltered, frowning in thought. "I don't know. How do you fight something that can enter your dreams?"

Sam exchanged a glance with Tucker. "We'll figure something out." They were nearing the cafeteria, and a few students lingered by their lockers. A shift in conversation was necessary. "So what do you plan to do this date with Kwan?" She smirked when the pink returned to Danny's cheeks.

"I hadn't really thought about it." Danny jammed his hands into his pockets and hunched up his shoulders. "What are good date activities? Going to the movies? That seems a bit plain. Oh!" His expression turned to slight horror. "I don't have anything to wear!"

Sam laughed. "Danny," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "relax. You still have a week to figure it out. And I'm sure whatever you decide to do and wear will be fine."

"What?" Tucker's shout drew the attention of his friends, who snapped their heads around to stare at him. His arm shot out and pointed to something down the hall. "Is that?"

Sam glanced toward what Tucker pointed at and sighed internally. The walls and doors to the cafeteria were covered with the posters for the prom and auction. It was Paulina's idea to line them up along the wall to tell the story. Starting from the farthest point on both ends were the solo images of Danny and Sam. As the images moved toward the cafeteria doors, the pair spied each other then crossed to each other. On the cafeteria doors was the poster with Danny and Sam dancing together. Sam spotted a good crowd of women standing there looking at the posters and sighing dreamily over the whole romantic idea of the Cinderella theme that Paulina thought up to use for the posters. When she glanced toward Danny, she frowned as he shrugged and stepped back, letting her be the one to explain things.

"Well, you see," Sam said, stalling the inevitable. "I wanted to do something to raise money for the zoo so that they could get better habitats for the animals. So I thought: why not do an auction?" She winced at the glower on Tucker's face. "In which girls could bid on boys. Then Paulina came up with the idea of tying it into prom."

Tucker tossed a glance to Danny. "And you knew about this whole auction thing?"

"I sort of got roped into the whole poster thing." Danny strode toward the cafeteria. "Since I cooperated with the photo shoot, I got out of participating in the auction."

Tucker nodded in understanding then jerked as a thought hit him, his eyes growing wide. "Wait! Does that mean I'm stuck participating in this ridiculous auction?"

"It's for a good cause," Sam assured him. "Think of the animals! They have such poor living conditions at the zoo. With some more funding, they can at least have a better cage to live in. Something that's more spacious and comfortable and fitting to the environment that they would live in if they were free."

"I'm surprised you're not just opening all the cages to set the animals free," Tucker grumbled, folding his arms and looking rather grumpy about the news of the auction.

"That didn't exactly work out all that well the last time I set an animal free." Sam sighed, remembering when she tried to release Sampson from captivity.

"You can't really expect to raise enough money this way to make much of a difference in the animals' living conditions at the zoo."

"It's not just the date auction though. We're also auctioning off dresses for the girls for prom. And we have an auction in the works for the parents to purchase works done by the students. Some of the money will also go to funding the school for improvements and the clubs that don't get much of the school's money." Sam clasped her hands before her and tried her best pleading look. "Please, Tucker?"

He stared at her for a while before he finally released a tired sigh. "Fine," Tucker muttered reluctantly. "I'll do it."

"Thank you!" Sam wrapped her arms around him in a grateful hug and left a quick peck on his cheek. They stared at each other for a moment before pulling apart with a blush coloring their cheeks. "So... lunch?"

"Yeah, lunch," Tucker agreed, and they walked into the cafeteria.

Sam sighed inwardly as they got into line to get their lunch. She worried about a much bigger explosion of anger from Tucker after hearing about the auction and that she already signed him up to participate in it. That hurdle was, at least, over with now.


	14. Chapter 14

"I can't believe this!" Tucker grumbled as he followed Danny into his house.

"What?" Danny frowned at his friend as he closed the door after Tucker entered Fenton Works. They walked toward the kitchen, dumping their book bags on the table.

"This whole stupid auction thing!" Tucker waved his hands as he spoke. "How can Sam do this? Wasn't she the one that protested the whole beauty pageant thing? Isn't it a bit hypocritical of her to now turn around and put men up on the auction block like pieces of meat? Of all the stupid stunts she's done in the past, this takes the cake!"

"Tuck," Danny sighed as he walked over to the door that led down in his parents' laboratory, "aren't you getting a little too angry over this whole thing?" He listened carefully, hoping that his parents wouldn't be working on something at the moment.

"Of course you're not angry about it. _You_ don't have to be put up for auction!" Tucker folded his arms, frowning like a pouting child that didn't get his way. "Doesn't she get how this is going to make me feel? I'm going to be up there, and no one is going to bid on me."

"You don't know that. I'm sure there's someone out there that will bid on you." Danny walked over and patted his friend on the shoulder. But the look in Tucker's eyes suggested that he was angry about something more than simply the auction. "What is it?"

"I was going to ask her!" Tucker shouted in frustration, smacking Danny's hand away. "I had a whole plan for how to ask her to prom. But now that whole plan has gone to waste if I'm being auctioned off."

Danny winced when he heard that announcement. "Okay. So you don't go to prom together. That shouldn't stop you from asking Sam out."

"Again. How easy for you to say," Tucker grumbled, still boiling with anger. "You ask Kwan out, and it's all good and happy and the world is perfect. But asking someone out doesn't always go so perfect for everyone. What if she says no?"

"You think I wasn't scared of rejection when I asked Kwan out?" Danny demanded, growing a little tired of watching his friends dance around their feelings. "I didn't know if Kwan would yes or no when I talked to him. But, Tuck, do you really want to go through life regretting never seeing if Sam feels the same way? You're never going to find out if you never ask her."

Tucker released a shout of frustration as he kicked one of the chairs. "Sorry," he mumbled after blowing off his steam. "I just can't believe right when I got up the nerve to ask her to prom, she pulls this whole auction stunt."

"Sam didn't mean to ruin your plans," Danny assured him. "She just wanted to do something for a good cause. Which, you know, is what she loves to do."

Tucker rolled his green eyes and sighed. "Yeah, I know. She just wants to help out the animals in the zoo."

"Look. Just ask her out. Prom is just a dance. It's not like who you go to prom with is going to be the person you marry." Danny opened the door to the laboratory and started down the stairs. Luckily, it looked like his parents were out at the moment, which allowed him the perfect opportunity to take a trip into the Ghost Zone.

"Okay, okay." Tucker sighed, following his friend. "I'll ask her out. Hey, maybe we can double date with you and Kwan." He smirked as a blush crept onto Danny's cheeks. "Which, by the way, I'm cool with. But it's still kind of shocking to find out you're gay."

"Not gay," Danny argued, forcing back the blush. "It's not like I woke up and was like, 'yup, I'm totally into dudes now. All guys, all the time.' I still find girls attractive. I mean, seriously," he stopped and turned around to face Tucker, "I still think Sam's beautiful. When I saw her in the dress for the posters, she was drop dead gorgeous. And Valerie, seriously, how could I not think she's a total babe? And Paulina," Danny shrugged, "every guy at school dreams of dating her. And it's not all about how pretty they are. They're all smart in their own ways. Sam and Valerie can kick some serious ghost butt. And Paulina," he laughed, "if you've ever been slapped on the back by an enthusiastic Paulina, you'd have no doubts that she could probably do some serious damage with a fist." He rubbed at his shoulder in memory of one such time.

"Okay, okay!" Tucker held up his hands. "I get it. You still like girls."

"And don't forget it." Danny transformed into Phantom as he opened the Ghost Portal. "If you ask me why Kwan, I wouldn't be able to give any real answer. I like him, and I want to see where our relationship will go."

"Hey, as long as he treats you right, I won't have to some way to hurt him," Tucker said as he walked over to wear they hid jumpsuits for him and Sam when they went into the Ghost Zone with Danny. They could take the Specter Speeder, but Danny's parents actually started to question why its power was always almost out when they checked on it. Thanks to help from Valerie and some advice from Vlad, they were able to build some inventions that allowed for faster maneuverability within the Ghost Zone. The jumpsuits that Tucker and Sam used had built in speed boards that appeared under their feet, much like with Valerie's suit.

Danny rolled his eyes at the comment, but he was glad that his friends both cared about his feelings and were okay with his discovery of liking men as well as women. He held out a hand, stopping Tucker after his friend pulled on his jumpsuit. "But," he said with a wince as he chewed on his lower lip, "can we not do the double date thing? I kind of want to have my first date be just me and Kwan."

"Sure, man." Tucker nodded as they passed through the Portal into the Ghost Zone. "So what do you plan to do for your first date with Kwan?"

Danny frowned at the amused grin on his friend's face. "I don't know yet. What's your plan for a date with Sam?"

The amusement faded quickly from Tucker's face. "You're assuming that Sam actually agrees to go on a date with me." Doubt showed in his eyes, and Danny wondered how Tucker was blind to the fact that Sam liked him. "And anyway, my plan was to ask her to prom. I haven't even thought of what to do for a date."

"Hm," Danny thought out loud as he folded his arms and flew backwards alongside Tucker. "Maybe we should think about doing something that follows the interest of the person we'll be going on a date with. Like Sam is an ultra-recyclo vegetarian, so you could take her to some kind of a vegetarian restaurant for dinner. And she loves those sci-fi movies with the female villains. I think they're showing _Trinity of Doom_ again at the theater this weekend."

"I thought you said going to movies was pretty plain."

"Hey, I was trying to be helpful." Danny sighed, scratching a hand through his white hair as he thought some more. "I mean, it's better than suggesting you take her to some sort of protest. Getting arrested, I don't think makes a good first date."

"All right. Good point," Tucker agreed with a nod. "Why is this so difficult?"

"Because we want to make a good impression on them?" Danny snapped his fingers as an idea occurred to him. "Kwan told me about this band that he thought Sam might like. You should see if you can get tickets to their next show. They're called Blue Blaze."

"That," Tucker said hesitantly, "is actually a pretty good idea. If Sam actually ends up liking them. It might make up for the fact that I got her that Devil Head CD for her birthday without realizing that she no longer likes them." His shoulders drooped as he hung his head.

"And that's why you need to pay more attention to Sam and less attention to all of your tech gadgets. Hm, maybe that's why." Danny's brow wrinkled as he considered an idea.

"What's why?" Tucker demanded. "And did you actually have a plan here? Or are we just going to fly around until we bump into a ghost?"

Danny righted himself and took a look around the Ghost Zone. The overall atmosphere of the Ghost Zone hadn't changed much. There were new doors and island lairs that appeared all the time. It made mapping the Ghost Zone an impossible task since it was always changing and growing. Danny stuck to the familiar landmarks to guide him. They were coming up on Skulker's lair, which was a thick jungle island just up ahead.

"We'll talk to Skulker," Danny explained as he headed for the jungle island. "If anyone is going to have information, it'll be him."

"And Clockwork won't give you any information?" Tucker reached over and gave his friend a nudge. "And don't dodge my question. Maybe what's why?"

Danny shook his head as they reached the island and touched down on the land. "Clockwork will offer advice when he needs to. Beyond that, he prefers I figure things out on my own. If I go to him to ask about this ghost, he won't tell me anything." He rubbed at the back of his neck as he looked away. "I was just thinking that maybe the reason Sam hasn't asked you out is because she's waiting to see if you actually care about her. You have your head so clouded by all this tech stuff that she might feel like there's no room for you to have any interest in _her_."

"Hey, I care about things other than tech!" Tucker argued.

"Then show her sometime."

"The whelp does have a point," Skulker said, his voice coming from within the thick mass of vegetation. "After all, he gave me that sort of advice when I was having problems with Ember. When I started showing some interest in her and her needs, things got better between us."

"I still think it's weird that Skulker and Ember are a thing," Tucker said, frowning as Danny stood defensively in front of his friend.

"Well, weirder couples have happened here," Danny said with a shrug. "Just look at the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady."

"I'd rather not." Tucker turned a shade or two greener at the thought of that coupling. Danny grabbed hold of him and jumped to the side in time to miss the five arrow that pierced the ground where they were standing moments ago. He had no doubt that the tips of the arrows were laced with a paralysis poison. After fighting Skulker for the past four years, Danny knew practically all of the hunter's tricks.

"I think it's kind of nice, in a way," Danny admitted and fired an energy ball into the air as a net flew at them. "It's nice that love can be found after death. It kind of makes becoming a ghost seem a little less lonely." He grabbed hold of Tucker's jumpsuit and yanked him backward before his friend could trigger a hidden explosive.

"Yeah, but not everyone that dies becomes a ghost," Tucker pointed out, and Danny hesitated, frowning at that reminder. That brief moment cost him, and Skulker landed an attack that caught Danny around the waist and pinned him to the ground with a grunt.

"I'm a little disappointed there, whelp," Skulker admitted as he came out of hiding. He approached Danny, placing his feet on either side of the half ghost's head. "You usually make this a much better game. How am I to keep up my skills if you allow yourself to be caught so easily?"

"Sorry," Danny mumbled. "Momentary distraction." He frowned, his green eyes sliding away from the ghost. He usually tried not to think too much about what might happen when he died. Would he become a full ghost? Or would Phantom fade away with him? He wasn't sure of the answer, and he was too scared to ask Vlad if he had any answers on that topic.

"Yeah, it's still weird that you two are kind of buddy-buddy now," Tucker said, watching as Skulker freed Danny and helped the half ghost back to his feet.

"I recognize him as a worthy adversary," Skulker said, folding his arms over his chest. "His creative ability to find ways to escape from what seems like even the most hopeless of traps is admirable. Fighting him helps to improve upon my own skills."

"Don't worry, Skulker." Danny grinned as he patted the ghost on the arm. "We won't tell anyone that you've got a big soft heart inside that metal suit."

"Watch it, whelp." Skulker glared darkly at him. "What brings you to my lair anyway?" Suspicion seeped into the glowing green eyes of his suit.

Danny reached into his jumpsuit, sticking an arm down the collar to retrieve something. "I had an encounter with a ghost last night," he explained as he unfolded a piece of paper. "He was just sitting there waiting for me to wake up. Have you ever seen him before?" He held out the paper with his drawing of the ghost.

Skulker frowned as he took the paper and examined the drawing. "You've improved."

"Thanks." Danny tugged awkwardly at his ear at the compliment. "But do you know him?"

Skulker sighed, glancing to Danny. "Are you sure you saw him?"

"Yes," Danny growled firmly. "And last night wasn't the first time either. He appeared to me when I was a child and had nightmares. I don't know why he's reappeared now, but I'm going to stop him."

"Don't." Skulker shoved the paper into Danny's chest.

"What?" Danny shouted in confusion.

"Some creepy ghost watches Danny sleeping, and you tell him to just ignore it?" Tucker demanded.

"You don't know what you're messing with on this one, whelp." Skulker turned away to return to his jungle.

"Then tell me what I'm up against!" Danny shouted as his hand crumpled the paper with his drawing.

Skulker halted and turned halfway back to Danny. "He's harmless, Danny. I thought you left the ghosts that weren't hurting people alone now."

"I do." Danny stomped up to Skulker and glared into his eyes. "But he is hurting people. And I'm going to stop him before he does anymore damage to me or anyone else."

"That's impossible." Skulker's expression clouded with absolute confusion.

"You're giving me a headache with all this cryptic talk," Tucker complained, rubbing at his head. "Can you give us some real information?"

"I need a name, Skulker. What powers does this guy have? Does he have weaknesses?" Danny questioned, frustration rolling over him. Skulker was usually more helpful with giving out information.

"The Nightmare Jester," Skulker answered reluctantly. "I've only had one run in with him. Beyond that, I don't know anything. He doesn't usually let anyone see him when he works."

"Works?" Danny's brow furrowed, not liking the name of the ghost.

"With dreams." Skulker rolled his eyes as if it should be obvious. "Why do you think he was in your bedroom in the first place? He was peeking into your dreams. But," Skulker shrugged, "he's usually more careful about not being seen."

"So basically, you don't have any _real_ information to tell us," Tucker said with a touch of smugness that gained him a slight nudge from Danny's elbow.

"I can tell you that if you're really looking to get in touch with him, which by the way I think you're crazy for doing, you can find him in your dreams." Skulker turned and disappeared into the jungle.

"That sure was helpful," Tucker muttered sarcastically.

"Might be the best we'll get though," Danny said with a frown. "If Skulker is reluctant to give me answers, no other ghost is going to talk." He still didn't have any answers about how to defeat a ghost that could slip into his dreams, or even how to protect his friends from the ghost. His hands curled at his side. But he was going to find a way to stop this ghost.


	15. Chapter 15

Dash glanced in the direction down the jogging path in the park from which they had just come. It was their usual fitness training time, but Fenton got held up when his phone rang in the middle of their run. Fenton told them to go on ahead of him, and he would catch up to them after he finished the phone call.

"You know," Dash said, frowning as he turned back to his friend, who was gulping down the water from the bottle he brought with him, "for two guys who should be acting all happy and excited for their upcoming first date, the two of you seem," he frowned trying to think of the proper word for it, "distracted."

Kwan twisted the cap back onto his water bottle. "I am excited for the date," he said as his aqua green eyes slid off toward the side. "And a bit nervous. Maybe even a little scared. We both said we liked each other. But what if I totally foul things up on this date? Or what if after the date, he realizes that he doesn't really like me _that_ way after all?"

"Kwan," Dash said seriously as he dropped his hands onto his friend's shoulders, "you are not going to foul this up. Just relax a bit." He slapped Kwan on the shoulder and grinned. "You already know him as a friend. It's not like the two of you are starting off knowing absolutely nothing about each other. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to make it some perfect night. Odds are things _will_ go wrong. And that's fine. If you accidentally knock over your drink or something, just roll with it. Don't let that trip you up. He's going to be just as nervous as you are. So just try to have a good time with him."

"I'll try." But Kwan didn't sound too certain about his friend's advice. He sighed as he ran his hand through his raven locks. "But I did have something else on my mind." He started walking down the jogging path, their short break over and time to get back to their run.

"What else would be on your mind?" Dash followed alongside Kwan as his thick brows knitted. "Worried about the auction?"

"Well, there is that." Kwan groaned at the reminder of the auction. "I'm not looking forward to that. But that wasn't what I was thinking about." He glanced Dash's way then frowned as he turned his gaze back to the path ahead of them. "It has something to do with what happened after school yesterday. Oliver's been looking forward to that whole internship thing this summer. It's been basically all he could talk about since January. I asked him how things with the internship selection was going, but he said he probably wouldn't get it. He acted like he didn't even care about it anymore."

Dash halted, reaching out to grab Kwan's arm. Concern etched itself into his expression as he frowned at his friend. "Is this going to be more about what happened in the other day in my car?"

"Maybe. I don't know." Kwan shook his head, getting that look in his eyes of frustration when he couldn't figure out the answer to a puzzle that was bothering him. "But Oliver isn't the only one. Remember when we saw Star the other morning and she looked all listless? There's also Francine who quit her job. Granted the job wasn't all that great, but she was determined to earn the money for her car. And what about Parker trying to pick a fight with Tony in the cafeteria? None of this is making any sense! Why are people having these strange responses? The only thing I can think of is that a ghost is involved somehow."

"So," Dash said, the gears grinding in his head to make any sense of what Kwan said, "if you had some contact with this ghost, why haven't you suffered any negative effect from it?"

Kwan opened his mouth then snapped it shut as he scrambled for an answer that he couldn't find. He shrugged his broad shoulders with a lost look in his eyes. "I don't know. Maybe my encounter with the ghost was too short for it to affect me the way it did the others. I only saw it for an instant. A mere flash of an image."

Dash nodded, deciding that could make sense. When Kwan saw what he thought was a ghost, he had only closed his eyes for an instant before he woke with a shout that nearly gave Dash a heart attack at the time. But Dash hated the idea of any potentially harmful ghost being anywhere near his friend. He stared at Kwan for a long while in silence.

"You want to seek out Phantom, don't you?" Dash narrowed his eyes, almost daring his friend to try and deny it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Phantom already knew about the ghost's presence." Kwan shifted his weight, turning his gaze away as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "But he can't keep tabs on all ghost activity all the time, right? Maybe if we could contact him, we could tell him about the possibility of a ghost having some weird effect on people at the school. If not Phantom," he trailed off then winced, "I thought maybe talking to Danny could help."

"Probably not the best topic of conversation for a first date though." Dash sighed with a shake of his head, but he could understand Kwan's thinking with that idea. Fenton's parents were ghost hunters, and they already knew that Fenton knew how to work all of his parents' inventions. After Fenton led the charge against the ghosts that stole their parents, Dash would rather go to Fenton than his parents for help with a ghost problem.

"Yeah, I know. I still haven't even really gotten the courage up to tell him anything about it. Maybe I'm just jumping to the wrong conclusion here." Kwan walked ahead on the path. "I mean, it's not like I'm some ghost expert. Just because we live in Amity Park where ghosts are a common part of everyday life that doesn't mean that we actually _know_ anything about ghosts."

Dash stared then almost laughed loudly. He caught up to his friend and slapped an arm around Kwan's shoulders. "Let me get this straight. _You_ ," he pointed at Kwan, "are scared of looking like a crazy in front of _Fenton_ , who has been harassed all his life because of his _parents_ ' belief in ghosts?"

"Well, when you put it like that," Kwan mumbled, mouth pursing in displeasure.

"Okay. Seriously." Dash put away the joker side that enjoyed pushing his friend's buttons at times to get a reaction, like teasing him about his crush on Fenton to make Kwan blush. "If you think this is something that really needs an expert's opinion, then just tell Fenton. He knows what it's like to have people make fun of him over the belief of ghosts, so I doubt he'd laugh at you for saying you think there's a ghost affecting the students at school."

"It's a wonder that Jazz never agreed to date you." When Dash pushed him, Kwan cracked a grin. "So what do you think I should wear on this date? I don't want to look stupid."

"Well," Dash considered then smirked at his friend. "I bet if you put on those tight pants and a tight shirt, you'd have Fenton drooling the whole time."

This time, Kwan was the one doing the shoving. "A relationship shouldn't be entirely about a physical attraction."

"I know, but there's nothing wrong with trying to look good for him."

"Well, well, well."

Both of them stopped at the familiar voice that immediately filled Dash with rage. He turned his head and glared at the man that appeared before them on the jogging path.

" _Williams_ ," Dash growled, but Kwan held onto his arm to keep him from attacking the other jock without any provocation beyond his simple presence.

A smirk twisted onto Calvin's irritatingly ugly face. "I always knew there was something about Long I didn't like." He snorted and shook his head. "Actually, I just hate all of him." He sneered at Kwan, nose wrinkling up in disgust. "And now I can tell the whole school that he's a stupid fairy."

"I'll kick your ass before you even get the chance!" Dash shouted with his hands balled into tight fists.

"Forget it, Dash," Kwan said, stepping before him to stop his friend from starting a fight. "Williams' not worth it. Besides, I don't care if the school knows that I like Danny. I wasn't expecting this to be some big secret I have to keep from everyone, and I wouldn't want Danny to think I'm ashamed to admit to being a relationship with him or something."

"Well, isn't that sweet?" Calvin gagged. "I think I'm going to puke now."

"Let's just go," Kwan suggested, pushing Dash back down the path. Dash would have liked nothing more than to give Calvin the beating he deserved.

"Oh, that's just like you." Calvin followed after them. "Always playing the coward and running away from a fight." He grabbed hold of Kwan's shoulder and yanked him back. "And you think you're so much better than the rest of us." He drew back his fist, but Dash reacted faster, jumping forward to tackle Calvin to the ground.

"You," Dash shouted as he seized the front of Calvin's shirt, "don't touch my friend." He slammed Calvin down hard upon the ground. His dark blue eyes burned with rage as he glared down at the other jock.

"Dash, stop!" Kwan grabbed hold of the blond man's arms and tried to pry his friend off the other jock.

Calvin threw a punch, managing to slug Dash in the ear. With an enraged roar, Dash countered with punch after punch. Kwan tried to stop the fight but only suffered being on the receiving end of a few punches as the other two jocks went at each other. When they separated and got to their feet, Kwan grabbed Dash from behind and tried to hold him back.

"Stop!" Kwan shouted, and Calvin laughed, wiping at his mouth where a drip of blood trickled down to his chin.

"You're so pathetic, Long." Calvin stood up straight with a smug smirk. "If it wasn't for Baxter, I would have kicked your ass years ago."

"You couldn't hope to kick his ass," Dash snapped back bitingly, glaring viciously at the other jock as he struggled against Kwan's hold on him. Even though Kwan played pacifist, that didn't mean the Asian jock didn't know how to take care of himself in a fight. Kwan merely preferred to avoid a fight when he considered it unnecessary.

"Sure." Calvin rolled his eyes, unimpressed by Dash's claim, which only filled the blond jock with more annoyance and anger. "I'm _so_ sure that the little crybaby can kick my ass."

"That was first grade!" Kwan shouted, his own anger ignited by that reminder. "And you cut me with the scissors. I had to get seven stitches!"

"Oh, boo hoo for you." Calvin snickered. "You got a little booboo and cried the whole time."

"You!" Kwan growled, and Dash had to grab him before his friend could attack the other jock. Dash realized the funny twist of him holding back Kwan, but he also knew that his friend would do the whole gloomy, guilty thing if he ended up letting Calvin provoke him into a fight.

Calvin laughed at the pair of them, which really wasn't helping the matter because it only encouraged Dash to want to release Kwan and allow his friend to give the jock the punch he so rightly deserved. Then the laughter came to a stop, and Dash and Kwan both tensed at the expression of mid laugh frozen on Calvin's face. They exchanged worried looks, neither certain of what just happened. A hand stretched up from the back of Calvin's head, grabbing hold of the top of his head. Dash flinched at the sight that reminded him of some creepy horror movie. A second hand appeared, and the two jocks could only watch silently as something drew itself out of the other man's head. Then Calvin's body pitched forward, falling to the ground where he remained still as if someone had knocked him out. Dash snapped his attention to the thing that had climbed out of Calvin. Making a tsk-ing noise, the strange man dressed in a white suit stood over Calvin as he shook his head. His face was half covered by a mask, white with gold accents. The bangs of his long white hair were slicked back, and dark horns wrapped around from the sides to the front of his head. His mouth pressed into a thin line as irritation flashed in his differently colored eyes, one golden and the other one blood red.

"How dreadful." A look of distaste entered his gaze as he lifted his hand, holding up a dark orb the size of a marble between two long bony fingers with long, sharp looking nails. "All that time inside him, and all he dreams of is brutality."

"Who are you?" Dash demanded, finding his voice. And a little bit of courage after having witnessed the ghost drag himself right out of the unconscious jock. "And what did you do to him?" He gestured at Calvin, though he really didn't care all that much about what happened to the jerk. But if the ghost planned to do the same to him and Kwan, Dash wanted to be prepared for it.

The differently colored eyes flicked toward them as the ghost curled his hand around the orb. Dash heard the sound like delicate glass breaking, and wisps of black seeped out between the man's fingers and curled in the air. "Don't worry. He's merely sleeping. He should wake up just fine in a few hours." A smirk twisted upon his face, unsettling Dash, who decided he definitely didn't like what was probably going on through the ghost's mind. When the ghost approached them, Dash grabbed hold of Kwan, yanking his friend back a step with him.

"That-" Kwan's voice shook as he spoke. "That's the ghost I saw!"

"What?" Dash shouted, snapping his gaze toward his friend. It was in that moment when he turned his eyes away that the ghost made his move. It happened in a flash, and Dash hardly had the time to think before the ghost was before them, grabbing hold of Kwan's chin with one hand. The long nails dug into bronze skin, nearly cutting through the flesh. Kwan grabbed at the hand, struggling to pry himself free. His gaze was locked with the ghost's as they stared into each other's eyes as if mesmerized in some bizarre fashion.

"Perhaps you'll provide me with what I want," the ghost said in an eerily soft whisper.

"Let him go!" Dash shouted, drawing back a fist. When he threw the punch, he stumbled right through the ghost and crashed onto the ground. He turned and propped himself on one elbow right as a black and white blur shot past him. Dark blue eyes widened as he watched Phantom slam into the ghost, knocking him away from Kwan. Dash shot to his feet, catching his friend as he started to fall after being freed from the ghost. Fury raged in the green eyes as Phantom's fists glowed brightly with gathering energy.

"Don't," Phantom ordered in a voice that sent chills down Dash's spine, "touch him again." He dropped to the ground, standing guard in front of them.

Fear tightened around Dash's heart as he dragged Kwan off the path and out of harm's way if the ghosts did battle. Kwan hadn't responded since the mysterious masked ghost released him. Setting Kwan down and leaning him against a tree, Dash quickly checked on his friend's vitals. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he found a steady pulse. Kwan was still alive. Hopefully, it was like what happened to Calvin, and Kwan would wake up in a few hours.

"Amusing," the masked ghost said in a flat tone. "But you shouldn't get in my way, _child_."

"If being in your way means stopping you from hurting people, then I'm not moving." Phantom stood firmly, refusing to budge from blocking the masked ghost from his prey. An energy ball screamed through the air but ricocheted off a bright green shield that Phantom erected at once.

Dash had seen Phantom fight many times in the past, and the ghost hero only seemed to improve with each battle. Phantom dodged the attacks thrown at him and fired back, but neither seemed to be able to land a hit on the other. Moving in close, Phantom punched at the ghost with a glowing fist. At the close range, his opponent didn't have enough time to completely avoid the attack. He tilted his head away, but Phantom's energy still struck, glancing off the mask where cracks appeared. The masked ghost shouted his rage, his energy exploding outward. Dash's breath hitched, sticking in his throat as his heart stopped when Phantom sailed backward, skidding across the dirt path before coming to a stop several feet away.

The masked ghost approached Phantom as anger burned in his differently colored eyes. Then he halted before reaching Phantom. His head turned away, and his hands balled tightly at his sides. "Meddlesome nuisance." He vanished suddenly in a swirl of dark smoke.

Silence filled the area, and Dash stared at where the masked ghost last was for some time, stunned by his sudden departure. Then a groan brought him back to his surroundings. He turned his attention first to Kwan, but his friend seemed to still be peacefully sleeping. Getting to his feet, he hurried over to where Phantom was pushing himself up on one arm while rubbing at his head.

"Phan-" Dash froze, the name sticking in his throat when he noticed the ring of light materializing around the ghost's waist. He couldn't remember seeing something like that happen to Phantom, or any other ghost for that matter.

His eyes grew steadily wider as the ring split into two and travelled over the length of Phantom's body, revealing pale fleshed arms and a strip of a white clothing first. The excitement of actually meeting the hero he idolized for the last four years was snuffed out like the flame of a candle as shock set in, leaving him gaping and gasping for breath when the last strand of white hair darkened to black. What the heck was going on here? Dash scrambled for an explanation, but it felt like his brain was slowly shutting down. Fenton... Phantom... One moment ghost. Next moment human. How could something like that even happen? How could Phantom be sitting there then in the blink of an eye turn into Fenton? It was completely illogical! It sounded like something out of a comic book, not something that happened in real life. He raked a hand through his blond hair, his mind racing with thoughts that sped by too quickly for him to grab hold of a single one.

"Fudge!"

Dash snapped his gaze back onto the man sitting on the ground before him. Fenton lifted his head with the color draining from his face as their eyes locked together. No words needed to spoken for Dash to see in Fenton's eyes that the man was freaking out about this as much as he was. Then, faster than Dash would have thought he could move, Fenton leapt to his feet and seized hold of the front of Dash's shirt.

"I swear if you tell _anyone_ -" Fenton growled as his eyes narrowed so icily that Dash almost thought he felt a chill run down his spine.

"Hey!" Dash shouted, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him, but he was currently freaking out about seeing his hero suddenly transform into Fenton of all people. It was more than his mind could handle at one time! "I doubt anyone would believe me if I even tried to tell them. And why would I tell anyone anyway? Shit, Fenton! You're-" He gestured with a hand, failing with words for a brief moment because of the absurdity of the whole thing. "Phantom! I can't even - How are you - Gah! I can't even think straight now. What the heck are you?"

Fenton glared for a moment longer. Then he released his hold on Dash as his gaze drifted to the side. "I can't believe this happened." He ran his hands over his face. His fingers spread apart so that he could peek out between them. "All right. So you found out my big secret." Fenton waved out an arm then slapped down against his side. "I'm half ghost." He didn't seem too keen on getting into any more detail than that. His mouth pursed as he glanced the jock over. "You're really not going to tell anyone?"

"Geez, Fenton! I thought-" Dash's mind still boggled over the fact that Fenton was Phantom. But when he thought about their Freshmen year, he couldn't believe that all the stuff he did to Fenton meant he was also doing them to his hero. He shook his head to focus back on the topic. "Did these last three years mean nothing? I thought you would have been able to at least trust me enough to know I'm not going to spill your secrets."

"Old habits, I guess," Danny mumbled, folding his arms. His gaze turned away from Dash then back onto the jock. "I know you and Kwan basically tell each other _everything_ , but I would really appreciate it if you kept this quiet from him. And Paulina."

Dash glanced over his shoulder, frowning at where his friend leaned against the tree. "If you're going to be in a relationship with him, don't you think he deserves to know the truth?" He eyed Fenton as his jaw clenched, not happy with the thought of having to lie to his friend. He did agree with not telling Paulina, however, if only because she still showed signs of crushing on the ghost hero.

"We haven't even gone out on a date yet." Fenton rubbed awkwardly at his arm. "I'd like to see where our relationship actually goes before spilling my biggest secret to him."

Dash forced himself past the whole weirdness over discovering Phantom's true identity. The whole half ghost thing didn't quite connect in his head. How could anyone be half ghost? Was that the same as being half dead? The questions only made him look at Fenton with some morbid curiosity in how exactly he became what he was. He tried to act normally as he cocked a grin and smacked Fenton on the arm.

"Come on. This is Kwan we're talking about. If you're worried about telling him a secret, you should know he'll take it to the grave." Dash paused with a visible jerk as he remembered they were talking about ghosts. "Uh, I didn't mean-"

Fenton shook his head. "No, I know what you meant. And I know Kwan's not the type to go around telling everyone under the sun about someone's secret. I just-" He frowned, lowering his gaze. "I need to tell him in my own time. I don't want him freaking out the way you did."

"I didn't- Okay. Maybe just a little." Dash winced, squeezing index finger to thumb.

"You looked as a pale as a sheet and about ready to flee the scene screaming."

Dash landed a flat glare on Fenton. "Anyone would freak out when they saw a ghost suddenly turn human. And that, by the way, is going to take some time for me to adjust to because I'm still kind of freaking out here." He folded his arms and glanced back at the two still sleeping jocks. "Any idea what that ghost wanted? I mean, he _literally_ climbed right out of Williams' head. Is that even normal with ghosts?"

"Possession is pretty common." Fenton appeared somewhat concerned about that point though. "I'm still working out what that ghost's plan is. The information gathering didn't exactly go as well as I would have liked." He sighed, walking over to where Calvin lay. "I guess we should probably get these two home." He paused, considering the jerk of a jock. "Though, I can't say I wouldn't mind just leaving him out here."

Dash snorted, feeling the same. "Probably best to sneak him into his bedroom though. If we're lucky, he'll think everything that happened here was just some dream."

"Dream. Right." Fenton looked thoughtful. Then the rings of light suddenly washed over him, transforming him into Phantom, and Dash definitely needed time to get used to seeing that because he nearly jumped right out of his skin when Fenton did that. Phantom bent down and lifted Calvin up as he rose from the ground. Pausing, he stared down at Dash. "You know, you should give Jazz a call sometime. Ask her about school and stuff."

The change in topics threw him for a loop for a moment, and Dash lifted an eyebrow. "You actually want to hook me up with your sister."

Phantom shrugged. "Freshmen year, it probably would have disgusted me to think about the two of you hooking up. But you turned out to be a pretty decent guy once I got to know you. And if you make my sister happy, that's really all that matters. Jazz deserves someone that loves her and makes her happy."

Dash blinked then slowly smirked as it dawned on him that he just got Fenton's blessing and approval. Now all he had to do was actually ask Jazz out and hope she said yes.

Phantom's green eyes narrowed. "But remember. I have ghost powers. So if you hurt my sister, I might not hold back."

Dash shuddered at the seriousness in his voice. "I care about Jazz. _A lot_. I have no intention of ever breaking her heart if she gives me the chance."

"Good." Phantom nodded but still had that glare in his eyes as if trying to burn the fear of his wrath into the jock. "I'll see you around later." He waved then flew off through the skies.

After watching for a moment, Dash sighed and shook his head. Walking over to where he friend remained, he lifted Kwan into his arms. "Man, you haven't even a clue who you landed a date with," he mumbled to Kwan, and part of him really wanted to be present for when Fenton told Kwan the truth.


	16. Chapter 16

Paulina glanced up from her notebook. "Looks like we have a good number of participants," she told Sam after checking the list of the men that signed up to take part in the auction. They were getting close to the date they decided on hosting the auction, and she wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. Between the auction and getting the decorations ready for prom, she had of work to do.

"How many do we have now?" Sam asked, leaning over to get a look at the list.

"Ten," Paulina answered as she handed the list over to the other woman. They had more men show some interest in signing up, but several of the men that asked Paulina about the whole auction had either already asked someone and were waiting on a response or a few simply wanted an excuse to talk to her so that they could ask her to prom. Her mouth pursed unhappily as she remembered those men. They saw Dash listed as one of the men up for auction and thought it was a good opportunity to ask her out.

"I would have liked more, but," Sam shrugged, "I guess we did kind of spring this really close to prom. Most people probably already have dates."

"Well, maybe we won't make a lot of money from auctioning the dates, but lots of the girls going are eager to see what kind of dresses will be auctioned off, especially if they have the option to discuss things with the fashion students." Paulina took her notebook back and flipped it to another page. She made a face at her sketch design of how the decorations for prom should be placed, still feeling like it wasn't quite perfect yet.

"Oh no," Sam mumbled with a hint of dread in her tone.

Paulina lifted her head and followed the other woman's violet gaze to see what caused the reaction. She scanned the crowd of students lingering in the hall after school, and she easily spotted Kwan leaning against the lockers as Danny grabbed something out of his own to shove into his book bag. A smile tugged at her mouth when she saw them. All day, they were seen together, walking with each other between classes and sitting with each other at lunch. Paulina doubted they were oblivious to the looks they received from the other students or that they missed the shocked whispers circulating through the school. But neither of the two men seemed to care even slightly about what anyone else had to say about them. When Danny closed his locker at last, Kwan pushed away from the lockers, grabbing hold of the other man's hands and lacing their fingers together. Danny smiled at him, and they chatted happily together.

"Oh no," Paulina repeated Sam's words of dread when she noticed what caught the other woman's attention. Calvin Williams walked down the hall, nearing where the happy couple still stood. Her heart stopped in her chest, waiting fearfully to see what Calvin would do. Dash told her that morning about how Calvin ran into them in the park yesterday and overheard their conversation about Kwan's date with Danny. Paulina worried her lower lip, fearing a horrible confrontation was about to occur.

Both Kwan and Danny tensed up, their expressions shifting from happy to on guard and angry when they noticed Calvin. They expected a confrontation too. But Calvin kept walking past them, hardly giving them a glance as he continued down the hall. Paulina blinked and glanced toward Sam, who appeared as surprised and confused by that completely un-Calvin like response. The jock had never really shown any great like toward either Kwan or Danny. The fact that they were showing to the whole school that they liked each other as more than just friends should have set Calvin off into a violent rage. That was what was expected because Calvin wasn't exactly nice.

Paulina swallowed nervously when she realized that Calvin was heading right toward where she stood with Sam. Why was he coming up to her? Beside her, Sam narrowed her eyes, a furious scowl twisting her face. Paulina darted her gaze around and saw that Kwan and Danny were watching stunned, surprised that Calvin bypassed them without harassment. Dash, who had just come out of the bathroom farther down the hall, spotted what was happening, and his expression mimicked the fury that Sam displayed. Turning her emerald eyes back onto Calvin, she stared up at the jock that stood before her with the feeling of sweat trickling down the back of her neck.

"Hi, Paulina," Calvin greeted in an almost shy manner that was very unusual for him. He was normally a much louder person.

Paulina cast another glance around at the people she knew. They all looked like they were sitting in wait to jump on Calvin the moment he tried to hurt her in anyway. "Hi," she responded with great uncertainty. "What do you want, Calvin?" Her mouth thinned and her brow knitted to show her confusion.

"Um, well," Calvin mumbled, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "I saw about the auction."

"You can't possibly want to sign up," Sam cut in, shocked at the mere idea of Calvin participating in the auction. It sounded like a nightmare, really. Paulina couldn't imagine anyone even thinking of bidding on him except out of fear after being threatened into doing so.

"No," Calvin responded quickly, giving Sam a scowl that barely met half its usual heat. "I know you're working really hard on the prom too," he said when he turned his attention back onto Paulina. "I wanted to know if there was anything that I could do to help. You know," he shrugged his shoulders, "any heavy lifting that's necessary or something."

"Uh, well," Paulina said, stumbling for a response to the unexpected offer. Why was Calvin, of all people, volunteering to help her with setting for the auction and prom? It was so out of character that it made her head spin and wonder if she somehow work up in a Twilight Zone version of Amity Park. Except that everything else was virtually the same beyond Calvin's unusual behavior. "I'd have to check my notes about what still needs to be done." She cast a quick glance back to Sam. "But, um, if I need any help, I'll remember to ask you."

"Okay." Calvin nodded with perhaps a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "Good." He bowed his head, running a hand through the back of his hair with that strange shyness about him again. "Um, I noticed that Dash was listed as guys up for the auction thing." His gaze lifted enough to met her, and Paulina shifted uncomfortably at the way he looked at her. It wasn't that he had that same look some other men did when they asked her out, like she was just a pretty face to act as arm candy for them. But it was such an unusual expression of actual caring and sincerity for Calvin to have that it unsettled her. "I thought maybe I would ask you to prom then."

"Oh, um," Paulina said hesitantly. His past actions didn't lend well to her wanting to agree to go with him, but that look he gave her _almost_ made her feel guilty about telling him no. "I don't really know-"

"I get it," Calvin said before she could figure out a decent response. "You probably had lots of guys ask you already." The corner of mouth twitched, almost trying to form into a sad smile. "You have to weigh your options and decide who would be best for you to appear at prom with. Understandable." He nodded, though he didn't look like he quite believed his own words. "Well, the offer still stands if you make your decision." He gave a small wave before turning down the hall and continuing on his way.

"Is it bad that almost feel guilty?" Paulina cringed, turning to Sam once Calvin was out of hearing range.

"What was that?" Sam gawked at her. "That is _not_ how he usually acts."

"No kidding!" Paulina shook her head, still trying to make sense of that bizarre scene. Calvin acting nice? Had the world gone crazy?

"What did he want?"

Paulina jumped in surprise when Dash suddenly appeared before her, anger twisted upon his face. His dark blue eyes gazed down the hall in the direction in which Calvin disappeared. "He just," Paulina explained, shrugging, "asked if he could help with stuff." She didn't exactly want to tell him about Calvin asking her to prom, and she was relieved when Sam kept silent about that part of the conversation. She may not have liked much about Sam in Freshmen year, but she was growing to like the woman as they interacted more. She could see that Sam could be trusted with a secret, and she appreciated that.

"You can't trust him." Dash folded his arms with a pensive expression. "Williams isn't Mr. Nice Guy. He doesn't offer to help anyone."

"You say that like I've never met him before." Paulina narrowed her eyes. She knew she wasn't as big and strong as Dash and Kwan, and she certainly didn't have the level of fighting skill as Valerie, but sometimes it frustrated her to be treated like a weak princess that always needed them to step in to protect her. "Anyway, he was acting all nice and stuff. It was weird." Her brow furrowed. "You didn't _do_ anything to him yesterday, did you?"

Dash turned his gaze onto Sam. "No," he said after a moment, and Sam shared a confused look with Paulina. "I should probably go. Homework to get done and stuff." He headed off to where Kwan and Danny still stood.

"Well, that was weird! Have all the guys suddenly turned crazy?" Paulina turned to Sam, hoping the other woman could alleviate some of her confusion.

"What do you mean suddenly?" Sam lifted an eyebrow as she quirked half a smirk. "Haven't guys always been a little crazy?"

"I would have said dense." Paulina returned the smirk, but she had that nagging feeling that something was going on and she didn't like it. "So how are things going with your crush?"

"Like you said, dense." Sam rolled her eyes, her mouth pulling into a thin line. "Sometimes I just want to take his stupid phone and smash it to make him pay attention to me."

"Now, four years ago, I might have encouraged you to act more like a girly girl," Paulina leaned back against the lockers, hugging her notebook to her chest, "but now I feel like that would be poor advice. If you have to be someone else to catch a guy's eye, then he's not really falling in love with the real you, now is he?"

"It's not like I hate the tech side of him or something. It's just it can be so - so frustrating!" Sam made a strangling motion with her hands as her teeth ground together.

Paulina nodded. "Because you want him to show you some attention too. Perfectly understandable. Why be in a relationship at all if the guy is going to be too obsessed with his toys to notice you exist?"

"Exactly!" Sam sighed out as if it was a relief to tell someone what she was feeling. "You're a lot more understanding than I gave you credit for. So," she stared at Paulina, "how come you haven't hooked some great guy around your little finger yet?"

"Because most guys only see me for what's on the surface." Paulina frowned, dropping her gaze. Of course, she always wanted to be beautiful. Even _Sam_ dressed herself up to look pretty sometimes. Maybe at the beginning of high school, looking good was her biggest concern. She was, as Sam first saw her, shallow. But just as Sam had many facets that made up who she was, Paulina had grown into something more than a shallow, pretty girl. She wished more than just Dash and Kwan would see her for whom she really was.

"Guys." Sam rolled her eyes. "Sometimes it's impossible to break through their thick skulls."

Paulina stared at Sam, for a long moment simply gazing into those violet eyes. Then she smiled. "Right. I guess sometimes the only way to get through sometimes is to knock their heads a few times." Paulina pushed away from the lockers. "Ready to do some work setting up for the auction?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded her head, ready to follow Paulina off to the theater where they got permission to hold the auction.

"Hey, Sam!" Tucker called, making to the two women pause and turn toward him as he approached. He glanced toward Paulina with a strange shyness about his eyes as he kept his hands behind his back before his attention returned to Sam. "Uh, can we talk alone?"

"I'll just go on ahead." Paulina headed down the hall, which had cleared of most students. When she turned the corner, she halted, pressing herself against the wall while keeping an ear out to overhear the conversation between the two of them.

"What did you want to talk about?" Sam asked, curious but also a little standoffish. Her uncertainty put her on guard.

"Um, well," Tucker said with nervousness in his voice. "I wanted to give this to you."

"A Venus flytrap?" Sam sounded surprised, and Paulina wished she could see the look on the woman's face when Tucker presented her with the plant.

"Yeah, because, um, I know you like plants," Tucker said. "I thought Demilo might like a friend."

"Oh. Thanks. That's really thoughtful." Sam hesitated for a moment. "Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

_Oh, come on!_ Paulina urged in her head, tempted to peek around the corner, but she didn't want either of them to realize she was eavesdropping on their conversation. _Don't chicken out! Ask her!_

"Um, well, you see," Tucker said, and his stalling was driving Paulina crazy. She wanted to go back to the pair and just ask her for him to move things along already. "I have these tickets to a concert on Saturday. I thought you might like to go to it. It could be, you know, a - a date."

Paulina winced. It wasn't the smoothest way to ask out a woman, but at least he finally got the question out.

"You're asking me," Sam said, "out on a date? Now?"

"I know this was a long time coming, and I've been stupid about not asking you out, but," Tucker sighed, "it's a bit scary asking someone out. With other girls it was easy. I knew they were all going to say no and it wouldn't hurt because I didn't care as much about them. But with you, not only do I like you but you're one of my best friends. I was scared to ask and have you say no and have it ruin our friendship."

"If you had just-" Sam sighed out, taking a moment to collect herself. "I never would have signed up in the auction if I thought you would actually ask me out."

"I was _going_ to ask you to prom," Tucker grumbled, "until I saw those posters about the auction."

"I didn't think you were going to-" Sam stopped herself. "Well, what's done is done." An awkward silence followed for a moment. "But I would love to go to the concert with you."

"Really?"

Paulina nearly laughed at the amazement in Tucker's voice.

"Yes, but I should really go help Paulina with setting stuff up now," Sam said with a touch of amusement.

"Oh, right. Of course. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow then."

A wicked smile crossed Paulina's face, and after a few moments of waiting, Sam rounded the corner with the potted Venus flytrap in her hands. The Goth woman gave a yelp of surprise when she spotted Paulina standing there.

"So he finally got his head out of the clouds and asked," Paulina said, unable to wipe away her smirk.

"About time." Sam tried to look annoyed, but the smile kept returning to her face.

"Oh! We should talk about what you should wear on the date." Paulina clapped her hands happily as they walked down the hall.

"And I should ask your advice on fashion why?" Sam gave her a skeptical look as she frowned.

"Who else are you going to ask? Danny?" Then just to make her point stick a bit more, Paulina added, "Your mother?"

Sam cringed. "I'm not even going to tell my parents about the date." She shuddered, and Paulina bet Sam was imagining her mother trying to dress her up like a doll and fuss about the whole thing. That was definitely not something that Sam ever wanted to deal with.

"Trust me a little." Paulina wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders. "I may not know the whole Goth thing, but I do know fashion." She tilted her head as she glanced at what Sam was wearing. "Though you really have stopped wearing all black all the time, haven't you?"

"It has nothing to do with changing myself for someone else," Sam said with a pointed glare. "I just-" She shrugged. "I guess it's more of growing up. Goth was sort of a phase, but I still like mostly dark and black clothing. With the occasional lighter colors." Today, she wore a lilac blouse with black vest over it.

"Okay. I know the whole fashion advice and makeover stuff isn't really your thing. But some girls bond that way, so," Paulina gave a pleading look, "please? I promise nothing you hate will be involved. You nix anything, and it's out of the running with no arguments."

"You actually want to bond with me? What _has_ the world come to?" Sam sighed dramatically. "I guess I can allow it."

Paulina grinned broadly as she pushed open the door to the theater and held it open for Sam to enter first. She hadn't gotten to help anyone with what to wear on a date for a while. Star was already in a two year long relationship with her boyfriend and usually only asked her which color lipstick she should wear. It was kind of dull when her friends didn't really need her advice for anything more than that, so Paulina was excited to help Sam out with her first date with Tucker.


	17. Chapter 17

"So Dash's a part of our fun little club now," Valerie said as she tossed a water bottle to the man sitting at her desk. He caught it deftly with one hand, which probably would surprised her four years ago when he was a lot more klutzy about handling things, like the lab equipment in science which got him banned from ever touching anything fragile in class for his entire high school career. She sat down on the foot of her bed as she twisted off the cap of her own bottle. "How'd that go?" A smirk tugged at her mouth before she lifted her bottle and took a sip.

"He freaked." Danny shrugged as if it was no big deal. "What else would you expect?" Then he sighed and shook his head as he leaned one elbow on the desk. "I can't believe I slipped up! I've been so careful all these years. Then that ghost just explodes with energy, and - Ugh!" He buried his face in his hand. "You're lucky. You never have to worry about that happening."

Valerie cocked an eyebrow at him as she tilted her head slightly then snorted. "Danny, I might have a helmet that keeps my face hidden, but knock me out and I have the same problem as you. The suit's connected to my brain. I pass out, and the suit goes away. So don't act like I don't know what it's like having to be careful in a fight."

Danny stared at her then lowered his gaze. "Yeah, sorry. I forget about that sometimes." He reached up and threaded his fingers through his raven locks. "I guess I'm just still kicking myself for letting my secret get found out like that." He fiddled with the water bottle in his hands. "Dash will keep the secret, right?"

"Well, with the way the two of you have been buddy-buddy with that whole studying and fitness arrangement," Valerie leaned her head to one side in consideration, "yeah, he probably will. Besides," she smirked in amusement, "being such a fan boy of Phantom's, I'm sure he'll love the opportunity to secretly be Phantom's friend."

"Oh no," Danny groaned, and Valerie bit back a laugh that was threatening to bubble out of her at his reaction. "You don't think he'll want me to take pictures with him as Phantom and like flying him around and stuff, do you?"

"No one fan boys like Dash Baxter." Valerie teased, much to Danny's annoyance. "It's probably not going to be bad as you think it will. Dash isn't completely that same jerk we both remember so well from Freshmen year. We've all grown and changed really. He's actually grown to like you, I think."

"Yeah, but I also know that he tends to tell his best buds everything."

"Speaking of best buds," Valerie leaned forward, resting her arms over her knees as she grinned, "I heard you have a date this Saturday. What are your plans for Kwan?" Her grin broadened when Danny's cheeks steadily grew darker, the pink reaching to his ears as he picked up a pencil and started working on something in his notebook again.

"I'm, uh, still thinking about that," Danny mumbled, making smooth strokes with his pencil over the page.

"Well, it can't be that hard to think of something to do with him. Kwan's a pretty agreeable guy. Obviously, he likes sports. Hm, but I don't think there are any games going on this Saturday, and you'd probably be too late to get tickets." Valerie held a hand to her chin as she considered options.

"That might be a bit too expensive for me too," Danny pointed out with a cringe. "I don't exactly have a lot of money."

"Kwan probably wouldn't care for an expensive restaurant, so you're probably safe there." Valerie leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling. "Well, he does like poetry."

"He does?" Danny snapped his head away from his work then his brow wrinkled. "Wait. No, I knew that. He got Sam kicked out of the Skulk and Lurk when his poem wasn't edgy enough. Sam was fuming about that for a while."

Valerie laughed. "Yeah, I admit his poems can be a bit," she rolled a wrist as she searched for the right word, "fluffy, I suppose. But you know," she eyed him for a moment, "you shouldn't force yourself to do only what he likes if it's something you don't like. It's good to show interest in what he likes, but don't lie about the fact that it's not something you enjoy."

"I like sports and poetry too. Well, poetry I got into more thanks to Lancer." Danny's mouth pursed to one side in thought. "Sitting around discussing poetry and books doesn't exactly sound like the most exciting idea for a first date though. I want to take him somewhere where we can have fun."

"I guess you can't do the same thing that Elle and I did." Valerie smiled fondly as she remembered it. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone to check if there were any missed messages from the other woman but was disappointed to find nothing new. "Our first date involved kicking some ghost butt then grabbing something from Nasty Burger and eating up on a rooftop overlooking the town." That wasn't how their first date was meant to go, but after a ghost appeared to ruin things, Valerie really couldn't imagine their date any other way.

"Yeah," Danny agreed with a frown, "I definitely can't do that with Kwan. I bet he could do some pretty good ghost butt kicking if he was given the right equipment, but I don't know that I'm ready to share that part of my life with him just yet."

"I'm sure you'll think up something to do." Valerie set her phone down beside her on the bed, half hoping it would eventually ring with Elle on the other end. "But speaking of your friends, how did they react when you told them that Dash knew?"

"Uh, well," Danny sighed, "they weren't exactly happy. Sam kind of yelled my ear off about it, saying I should be more careful and stuff. Tucker seemed a little more okay with it. I think he's just concerned about whether Dash can actually stay quiet about it or not. I think in time, they'll get used to Dash being in the know."

Valerie nodded, expecting as much. "Okay." She clapped her hands as she stood. "Enough of the small talk. Time to get down to business. What did you find out about that ghost?"

"Skulker wasn't exactly forthcoming with what he knows." Danny pulled himself away from his work and turned around in the chair to face Valerie. "All he told me was that the ghost is named Nightmare Jester, and if I want to talk with him, I can see him in my dreams."

"Nice name," Valerie said dryly with a half lidded glare as she folded her arms. "What's this 'in your dreams' talk?" Her brow furrowed with confusion.

Danny shook his head with a lift of one shoulder. "I don't know. I keep going to sleep and trying to dream and hoping he'll show up, but nothing." His hand curled tight enough around the pencil to almost snap it in two. The situation was frustrating him. "And it seems like more people are reacting weirdly everyday now. I'm glad I got reached them before that ghost could do anything to Kwan."

Valerie's mouth pursed very unhappily. She might not be as popular as she once was after her father lost his job, but she and Kwan were friends since they were little and still remained pretty close. She didn't like any ghost, with bad intentions, trying to hurt her friends. "There's nothing to indicate that this ghost targets specific people? If we knew who he was likely to go after next, we could lay a trap to catch him."

"No," Danny sighed tiredly, "there doesn't seem to be any connection or pattern. He seems to be moving at random. But-" he frowned, and Valerie really didn't like what that expression suggested. He picked up his notebook and turned it around for Valerie to see. "This is the ghost I saw holding Kwan. The one Dash said literally climbed out of Calvin's head. I'm not sure exactly what he did to Calvin, but since he's kind of been doing the whole Twilight Zone nice guy act, I'm not going to complain too much there. Although, it is kind of weirding me out to see Calvin being Mr. Nice Guy all of a sudden."

Valerie had to agree with the last comment. Things were definitely a lot better for everyone at school with Calvin not acting like his usual jerk self. "Yeah, Calvin being nice is kind of... weird. Creepy even. But at least he's not hurting anyone. I think I'll stick around Paulina a lot more though. Just to be sure he doesn't do anything to her." She saw Calvin after school talking with Paulina, and though it looked like he wasn't harassing her, it still put Valerie on guard about his intentions. "He realizes Halloween is long past though, right?" She tapped at the notebook as she glanced over the picture that Danny drew. The ghost wore a mask and had horns that wrapped around the front of his head and his hair was slicked back out of his face. Valerie shook her head, having never seen a ghost that looked like him. "Think he has some hideous scar he's hiding under that mask?" Danny's troubled look wasn't helping Valerie feel good about this ghost.

"He's not-" Danny shivered suddenly, and his eyes immediately shifted to glowing green.

"So you met him."

Valerie twisted around, her suit materializing to cover both arms as blasters sprang up from the wrist in an automatic reaction. Four years of hunting ghosts had taught her to always be on guard, and a great deal of control in utilizing her suit. Green eyes narrowed viciously at the ghost floating in the corner of her room. He had his leg bent like he was sitting in an invisible chair while his other leg was crossed ankle over knee. Like the picture, he wore a mask, but his horns protruded upward instead of forward. His hair was much shorter, too, hanging loosely.

"That's not the same ghost you drew," Valerie snapped accusingly as she shot a glare at Danny.

"I was about to say that," Danny mumbled, transforming at once into Phantom. He summoned energy to his hands, looking ready for a fight. "He's not the ghost that I saw with Kwan and Dash. But he is the ghost that appeared in my room after I had a nightmare."

"Wait. So there are _two_ of these freaks in masks?" Valerie shouted. But what really got her anger rising was the fact that the ghost dared to appear within her bedroom. Any ghost that valued its afterlife knew better than to enter her home without permission. Even Danny was cautious enough to knock instead of phasing into her room.

"Now, now, young lady." The ghost frowned. "Freak is such a terrible term."

"You might have escaped me last time," Danny said, "but your chances of getting away from the two of us is infinitely smaller."

"Unless of course he brought his partner with him," Valerie reminded.

The ghost sighed, rolling his oddly colored eyes. "What is it with the young today? So eager to get into a fight. Has it escaped your notice that I don't seem even the slightest bit interested in opposing you in some sort of barbaric duel?"

"So you just enjoy making it a habit of being creepy and hanging out unwanted in someone's room?" Valerie glowered at him, but he did have a point. Other than his uninvited presence, the ghost wasn't trying to attack them. Yet.

"My duty, unfortunately, requires such creepiness, as you so gently put it."

"Your duty!" Danny shouted, showing some amazing restraint from firing an energy ball at the ghost. "Your duty involves twisting people's dreams into nightmares?"

"Child, I hardly have to twist _anyone's_ dreams into nightmares." He dropped to the ground, landing neatly on his feet and stepping closer to them. "Especially _yours_." He locked gazes with Danny as he stood before the half ghost. "People suffer from fears all the time. It's a natural part of living. Those fears seep out from the subconscious into dreams. While you might like to pretend everything is fine and dandy and you live in a happy, loving household, your subconscious screams of your fears of what your parents might do if they ever learned the truth of whom you are. Your nightmares are not my doing, though I must say, yours are quite delicious. That truly _paralyzing_ fear in them makes up for that nasty little aftertaste caused by your ghost half."

Valerie took a moment to digest that, still keeping her blasters ready to attack if necessary. "You eat people's nightmares?" She had seen a lot of crazy things that ghosts were capable of, but this was a new one for her.

Red and gold eyes slid toward her. "Have you never noticed that after waking from a nightmare sometimes, you feel maybe just a touch less scared?"

"I-" Valerie blinked in consideration as she thought about it. "Well, sometimes. I have that dream of falling and wake up with a start, but then I don't feel quite as scared of heights."

"You were afraid of heights?" Danny gawked at her in surprised.

"When I was little." Valerie shrugged. "But I got over it, mostly, by high school. Enough that I could ride the speed board without being terrified of flying too high for fear of falling off it. Now I can't even remember why I was scared in the first place."

"You're welcome," the ghost said with a small smile.

"Come again?" Valerie's brow furrowed.

The ghost sighed tiredly. "It's a delicate work. People need fear. It's something the helps in growth. But not all fears have to be lifelong problems. So when I take their nightmare, I skim just a little of their fear away, and they are slowly able to overcome what scares them."

"So you want us to believe you're the good guy?" Danny didn't sound even slightly convinced. "Then why are people acting strangely now?"

The ghost walked past them, and they each turned to follow his movements. He picked up Danny's notebook. "I'm not the one doing that to them." He held the notebook before him with the drawing facing them.

"Your partner is doing it."

Oddly colored eyes rolled behind the mask. "Not my partner. But he does perform the same task. We observe dreams and eat the nightmares."

"So why does he affect people so dramatically while you don't?" Danny folded his arms, clearly not convinced that the ghost before him wasn't an enemy. Valerie could remember that feeling well, never trusting that any ghost could be anything but evil. It felt like a huge weight lifted from her when she was finally able to let go of her anger.

"I eat nightmares. He," the ghost tapped at the drawing, "has been corrupted somehow. He eats more of the nightmare than he should. But now he has started eating dreams as well. What do you think happens when a ghost with powers like mine takes away someone's dream?" He paused a brief moment for the question to sink in as Danny exchanged a glance with Valerie. "Imagine that I reached into your brain and plucked out your dream to become," he waved a hand, "let's say, an astronaut?"

Danny's eyes narrowed at that question, and Valerie could almost read it in his expression that he was furious at the ghost for peeking into his dreams. "I don't know," Danny responded with a growl in his voice. "Not have it anymore? But people have more than one dream. Even if I can't be an astronaut, I can try for another dream."

"But what if he comes again and again, stealing away dream after dream?" the ghost persisted. "What happens to a person who's lost all their dreams?"

"I-" Danny blinked, looking as stunned as Valerie was feeling.

Having every dream stolen away? Valerie could remember that hollow feeling inside her after her mother died. It was like a gaping hole telling her she could never be happy again. Of course, over time, the hole shrank and she found things to fill the void. She tried to imagine going through life never filling what was taken from her, and it hurt worse than being punched in the gut by a ghost's energy ball.

"They wouldn't be them anymore," Valerie said in a voice devoid of emotion. "They'd just be empty shells." The odd behavior began to make sense now. Parker in the cafeteria probably had fears of being bullied. If that fear was fully consumed, Parker would no longer fear bullies and might start acting brazenly in front of them, which explained why he responded by picking a fight with the jock. Calvin was a different story. Valerie pursed her mouth as she considered his change in attitude. He was being nice now, no longer the aggressive jerk that liked hurting people. She almost gasped out loud when she put the pieces together. It was a dream that the ghost ate: a dream of cruelty. That seemed like the Calvin that Valerie knew, dreaming about hurting people. If this ended up being a permanent condition, she had to admit she was glad the ghost went after Calvin.

The ghost's mouth curved slightly into a smile. "Give the girl a prize."

After giving Valerie a careful look, Danny turned back to the ghost. "So what happened? How did this whatever his name is become corrupted? What's his plan here?"

"I'm not quite sure." The smile fell from the ghost's face. "He goes by the Dream Trickster. We normally work solo at our task so I don't know what triggered this sudden change in him. Or perhaps it's something that's been growing over time and has only just now come to light. I wish I knew his plan. It would make stopping him much easier."

"Do you _have_ a plan for stopping him?" Valerie questioned with a frown and a skeptical look in her eyes.

"I had hoped to employ the help of the half ghost." His eyes drifted toward Danny.

"Great," Danny muttered then sighed. "So it's up to me to track this guy down and figure out how to stop him for you?"

"I can track him down. We may not work together, but we are able to sense each other more readily than you can sense regular ghosts. It allows us to know whose dreams have already been checked for the night."

"But because it goes both ways, he knows when you're closing in on him," Valerie said, and the ghost nodded.

"Which is all the more reason to seek my help. Because he won't sense me as easily as he does you." Danny ran a hand through his hair with that look on his face that said he was already debating if his parents had any useful inventions in their laboratory.

"If it means keeping the people I care about safe, I'm all for stopping this guy." Valerie turned to Danny for his answer.

The half ghost nodded, obviously unable to ignore the threat. "I don't want that ghost going anywhere near my friends and Kwan again. I don't suppose you have any thoughts on how to catch him."

"At this time, no." The ghost frowned at him.

Valerie lowered her arms, which were starting to hurt from keeping her blasters aimed at the ghost, as she allowed her suit to disappear. The ghost had showed no signs of doing harm to them, after all, so she saw no reason to keep treating him like a threat. They seemed to be on the same side.

"Perhaps we should sit down and discuss what sort of powers a ghost of your type is capable of," Valerie suggested as she sat down on the foot of her bed again. She looked the ghost over. The Nightmare Jester? These dream type ghosts had odd names. "If we know what kind of attacks he can do, we'll be better prepared for fighting him. And maybe we can think of something that might work to trap him."

Danny hesitated then transformed back into his human form and took a seat at the desk. The three of them then started talking about how to deal with the Dream Trickster before he did some serious damage to the people of Amity Park.


	18. Chapter 18

"So you're not going to bid on Tucker like a good girlfriend would?" Danny asked, unable to stop the smirk from spreading onto his face.

Sam tore her violet eyes away from her clipboard and landed a glare on Danny. The fact that Tucker asked Sam out on a date wasn't a secret, to anyone at school. Paulina had a rather big mouth and couldn't hold in her excitement about the pair finally going out on a date. The rest of the school was, needless to say, shocked. Even more than they were when Danny started walking down the hall holding hands with Kwan. Sam and Tucker, at least, wouldn't be accompanied by rude comments about their sexuality. Danny didn't _really_ care what people thought about his relationship with Kwan as long as he was happy with the jock, but sometimes when he overheard their comments, he wanted to turn around and use an ectoray to melt the soles of their shoes to the floor so that they fell over when they tried to walk. He resisted that urge, somehow. No one had tried to do anything to them in any form of harassment, which probably had something to do with the fact that Kwan was a big jock and best friends with Dash, who was another big jock.

"We haven't even had our first date yet," Sam pointed out as she glanced up at the stage where a short dark haired man with freckled pale skin stood looking like a nervous mess as Paulina announced his name to the audience and listed some good qualities that would make him sound attractive to potential bidders. Danny had to admit the man was kind of cute with little dimples when he actually smiled, although weakly, at the audience, but Danny was definitely more attracted to Kwan. "Anyway, Paulina and I decided that as hosts of the auction, we aren't allowed to bid on any of the guys participating."

Danny nodded, but the corner of his mouth still tugged upward. "But now that he's actually asked you out, you wish you could bid on him, don't you?"

Sam frowned, pursing her mouth as she jotted down the final bid of twenty-six dollars for the man named Jones and the name of the woman that won his auction, which was Melinda. When he glanced out over the crowd, Danny spotted the woman with long reddish brown hair getting up from her seat and coming down to the front of the theater to hand her money to Star, who was acting as treasurer for the event.

"If he had asked me out weeks ago, I wouldn't have put him up in the auction," Sam said grumpily as the next man came onto stage to be auctioned. He had frizzy red hair and glasses, but the clothing he wore clearly didn't belong to him. The dress shirt and slacks with a tie and vest really added to his appeal, though Danny was pretty sure whenever he saw the man before, he dressed his long hand-knitted sweaters with cats on them. Paulina was doing a good job to make sure every man in the auction would get bids by finding ways to make the men appealing, both by dressing them up and highlighting their good points.

"Well, you could have just left him out and hoped he stopped being dumb and actually asked you," Danny said, shrugging as the bidding started at five dollars.

"Are you mad that Kwan got included in the auction?" Sam chewed on her lower lip as she glanced Danny's way.

"Well," Danny flushed lightly as he tugged at his ear, "it would be nice to get to go to prom with him. But you already had this thing in its planning stages before I even came to realize I liked him, let alone asked him out. And this is for a good cause. It's not going to ruin our relationship if we don't get to go to prom together."

"But you're totally going to bid on him, aren't you?" Sam smirked devilishly.

"Oh yeah." Danny nodded, smiling. He didn't have a lot of money, and he knew he had to keep some of it for his date tomorrow night. Wiping his hands on his pants, he felt nervous simply thinking about it. A date. With Kwan. His heart skipped, and he flushed, but at the same time, he feared doing something incredibly stupid and ruining the whole thing just as their relationship was starting.

"I bet a few girls here will be upset with you bidding, but it's not like we stated in the rules of the auction that men were excluded from bidding too." Sam smirked at him then turned her gaze onto the stage as the man fled off stage with some relief when his auction ended. They fell silent for a while as the next man came out from behind the curtains. "You haven't found the ghost yet?"

Danny shook his head with concern etched in the lines on his face. "That Nightmare Jester is keeping tabs on the town, but his buddy is apparently being pretty slippery."

"I hope you find him soon. I'm pretty sure Paulina will throw a fit if that ghost ruins all of her prom plans."

"I never would have imagined you and Paulina being besties." Danny laughed as Sam smacked him on the arm. "Oh, come on! You two are, like, total opposites. I'm sure the whole school is shocked that you haven't tried to kill each other while working on this little project of yours."

Sam shrugged. "I guess it helps that I stopped looking at her as just a shallow girl and started looking at whom she really is." Her gaze slid toward Danny. "Kind of like how you miraculously became friends with Dash and became romantically involved with Kwan." She shook her head. "I still can't believe you let Dash find out."

"It wasn't like I exposed myself on purpose," Danny grumbled. "I was wiped out after that ghost did his little energy explosion trick. But he hasn't said a word about it since then, so I don't think we have to worry about him spilling it to anyone."

"Your boy is up next," Sam said as she noted down how the auction went as the latest winner came down to the front to hand her money over to Star.

Danny sat up straight, attention focusing fully on the auction when he heard Kwan was up next. A smile pulled across his face, all thoughts of ghosts and secrets forgotten, as he watched Kwan step out from behind the red velvet curtain. He came to stand near the center of the stage, looking shy and awkward with aqua green eyes lowered and his cheeks tingeing slightly pink. Paulina didn't need to do anything to make Kwan look good, but she stuck him in a black dress shirt and slacks and a dark red vest, all of which fit his body perfectly, Danny noted with blush.

"Next up," Paulina announced cheerfully as she gestured with both hands toward the jock, "is Kwan Long." Her gaze swept over the audience, and Danny thought for certain she paused to linger on him for more than a moment. "Best friend to Casper High's star quarterback. Great defensive lineman. Just look at those muscles, ladies!" Paulina grabbed one of Kwan's arms and held it up, squeezing at his bicep as if to show it off to the audience. Kwan's cheeks darkened when a few catcalls whistled through the theater. Danny hated that twist of jealousy inside him, but he reminded himself that this whole auction was for a good cause. "A loveable teddy bear, who will probably turn up on your doorstep on prom night with a dozen roses because he's just that sweet. Now let's start the bidding. Do I hear five dollars?"

Fiver dollars was the starting bid for all the auctions. Danny guessed that was decided upon by Sam and Paulina during their planning meetings. Before he could even raise his hand to place a bid, the auction was already up to twenty dollars. A nervous sweat washed down the back of his neck as Paulina said,

"Twenty-five from the cutie in the front row," and winked at him. But in the next breath, the auction was at twenty-seven dollars, and Danny knew if he bid again, he wouldn't have any money for his date on Saturday. Twenty-five would have already left him with only twelve dollars for their date. His heart felt like a cold rock sinking in his chest when Paulina announced the high bid was thirty-four dollars.

"I knew he'd go for a lot," Danny mumbled, slouching down in his chair. Then he shook his head and stood. "I'm going to get some fresh air."

He left the theater and walked around the quiet, empty halls of the school. Why did he let himself get up the hope that he could win Kwan's auction? Of course there would be women at their school eager for a chance to go on a date with him. It was only to a silly dance too, but for some reason, he was really disappointed that he wouldn't get to go with Kwan. Danny leaned against the lockers and slid down to the floor, raking a hand through his hair. Going with Kwan would have been his only reason to actually consider going to prom.

"Man, I'm pathetic," Danny mumbled to himself as he stared at the floor. He should have stayed at home instead of letting Sam drag him out to the auction.

"It's not pathetic to feel disappointed when something you wish for is suddenly something you can't reach for."

Danny jumped at the voice that whispered in his ear. Then he released an exasperated sigh as he remembered that he had a Fenton Phone hooked over his right ear so that he could remain in contact with the Nightmare Jester and receive any updates on his attempts to locate his fellow dream ghost.

"How long have you been listening?" Danny asked warily with a frown.

"Long enough to know you wanted to go with that boy to this dance thing but realized you are unable to," answered the Nightmare Jester, though he sounded a bit distracted.

"You couldn't have just said you were listening?" Danny pushed to his feet then started walking down the hall again. "What do you want anyway? Did you get a location on your buddy?"

"He is not my buddy," the Nightmare Jester grumbled, and for some reason, that made Danny smirk. "We barely even know each other beyond how it feels to be near each other. But yes, I have located the Dream Trickster. For now, anyway. He has stopped for the moment. About half a mile south of your current location. As I have become accustom to your ecto signature, I can easily track your movements and tell you if you're straying from where the Dream Trickster is."

"Good. I could go for a little ghost butt kicking right now." Danny found a storage closet to duck into so that he could transform unseen by anyone. "Have you told Valerie yet?"

"I shall inform her now."

Danny flew up through the school and into the night. After their little powwow meeting with the Nightmare Jester the other day, Danny gave Fenton Phones to both the ghost and Valerie so that the three of them could stay in contact with each other until they could capture the Dream Trickster. Taking off in the direction the Nightmare Jester indicated, Danny pushed out his senses in search of the ghost. According to the Nightmare Jester, the reason Danny had trouble keeping a lock on their energy was because their ecto signature was dampened whenever they entered people's dreams. That explained why Danny sensed the ghosts one moment then immediately the ghosts disappeared.

"You're almost right on top of him," the Nightmare Jester informed him. "And Lady Gray is on her way and should be there shortly."

"How come she gets to be 'Lady Gray?'" Danny wondered out loud.

"Because, in case it escaped your notice, I _am_ a lady," Valerie said with a smirk in her voice. "I should be there in a minute. Don't have all the fun without me."

"I'll try not to." Danny smirked before he dropped down into the bedroom of one house.

For a moment, everything was still as Danny stared into the golden and blood red eyes gazing back at him through the white mask. The Dream Trickster wasn't expecting anyone to show up and interrupt him. They really hadn't come up with a decent plan after all their talking. Dream ghosts seemed to have most of the same common powers as any other ghosts with the exception of their ability to traverse the dreams of humans. If the ghost managed to escape into someone's dream, Danny and Valerie wouldn't be able to do anything but wait until he resurfaced. That was their number one priority: keeping the Dream Trickster out of the realm of dreams. If they could do that, maybe Danny could suck him into the Thermos.

Then everything was in motion again. The masked ghost dove for the little girl sleeping curled around a teddy bear in her bed. Danny reacted quickly, thrusting out an arm as a chain made of ectoplasm fired from his hand. It looped around the ghost's waist before the Dream Trickster had the chance to dematerialize and disappear into the child's dreams. With a growl, Danny seized hold of the chain and yanked on it, dragging the ghost away from the girl's bed.

"Meddlesome child!" growled the Dream Trickster, and Danny couldn't react fast enough to dodge the glowing fist aimed at his head. It scored a blow to his forehead, glancing off the right side, and Danny had enough presence of mind to keep hold of the chain and turn intangible as he sailed backward.

Danny managed to regain control of his flight before he crashed into the wall of another house. He needed to take this fight somewhere else before they caused any damage to the homes around them, or worse, injured anyone in those homes. Holding on tight to the chain, he flew upward swiftly, dragging the ghost with him. They were several feet above the rooftops of the houses around them before Danny noticed something. The links of the chains were vibrating in his grip. Then they shattered, shards of ectoplasm spraying outward. Danny crossed his arms over his face, shielding himself from the blast that pushed him higher into the air. When he lowered his arms, he found the masked ghost right before him.

A sudden shot of pink streaked past him, slamming into the ghost's chest and forcing him back. Danny twisted his head around to see Valerie gliding up to him.

"I wanted you to save me some fun." Valerie stood up straight on her speed board with her hands on her hips. "But I didn't expect you to let some freaky ghost get the better of you."

"I was just taking it easy on him until you showed up." Danny smirked back, but in truth, the ghost had surprised him again with that explosive energy. He had managed to do something similar in the past, but it was usually under duress when he was desperate to escape from a ghost.

"Do not," the masked ghost shouted, drawing the teenagers' attention on him again, "get in my way!" The cracks from the other day remained on his mask, cutting into the gold swirls that decorated the white porcelain. His eyes held a look of fury that unsettled Danny.

When he saw the ghost gathering energy into his hands, Danny shot forward, pushing Valerie out of the path of danger. A swirl of white smoke appeared between them, coalescing back into the body of the Dream Trickster. Danny barely raised a shield in time to block the blast of energy that the ghost fired from the hand directed at him. His green eyes darted about the sky, and he felt relieved when he saw Valerie had safely dodged out of the way. Danny grabbed the Thermos , yanking the top off it as he prepared to aim at the ghost.

"Do you really think I'll be captured that easily?" the Dream Trickster questioned, appearing right before Danny. A dreadful smirk carved across his face as if it was crudely cut by a knife. Danny winced at the tight grip around his hand as cold twisted metal dug painfully into his hand.

"Danny!" Valerie shouted, breaking the spell that kept Danny's gaze locked with the ghost's.

Danny caught half a smirk on the Dream Trickster's face before it vanished from his sight. In place of the ghost, he spotted a stream of pink heading straight for him. Danny abandoned the Thermos as he raised his hands before him, a thick pane of hard ectoplasm appearing before him. The energy from Valerie's blaster crashed against the pane, and Danny ground his teeth as he concentrated on keeping it up.

"Val, stop!" Danny shouted. "I don't sense him anywhere nearby!" When Valerie stopped firing, Danny sighed with relief, dropping his hands as the pane faded away.

"He seems to have escaped past my range," the Nightmare Jester murmured in disappointment. "I doubt he will resurface again tonight now that he knows you're after him."

"Great," Danny mumbled, floating lower toward the ground to retrieve the damaged Thermos. "And we didn't even learn anything from him."

"Well, we do know he has some goal," Valerie said as she came to hover before Danny. "We just need to figure out what it is. Come on. I'll clean up that bump." She tapped her helmet on the same side that Danny was struck by the Dream Trickster.

Danny shook his head. "That's okay. I'll heal up fast at home. I'll just sneak in so my parents don't notice. It should be gone after a few minutes."

Valerie folded her arms. "I wish I had super healing abilities. It would make my dad worry a lot less."

"Be careful what you wish for," Danny warned seriously. Though Desiree hadn't caused trouble for quite some time, he still preferred to be cautious whenever the word wish was used out loud. He sighed as he lifted into the air again. "I'll see you later, Val." After their goodbyes, Danny headed toward his home, frowning the entire way. What could a dream ghost want? What had caused him to change, to be corrupted, and eat more than he should of people's dreams and nightmares? The questions circled in his mind, but the only one who could answer the questions was the Dream Trickster, who didn't seem all that interested in talking with them.


	19. Chapter 19

He was, to be honest with himself, a little disappointed with the way the auction turned out. Paulina was excited about the amount of money they were able to make from the date portion. Plus the money from auctioning off dresses, and the event was a success in her mind. She was looking forward to hosting the other auction that would be selling off crafts and other things created by the students for the parents to buy. Kwan, meanwhile, wasn't as happy. He allowed his excitement to build when he glanced through the crowd and saw Danny lift his hand to bid. For one shining moment, he thought he would actually get the chance to go to prom with Danny. Then his hand lowered and the expression on Danny's face looked crushed, and Kwan felt that exact same feeling weighing down on him.

"I'm surprised Paulina isn't over here wanting to dress me up," Kwan said, throwing a glance over his shoulder to Dash, who laid on his bed while flipping through a magazine.

"Apparently, she's hanging out with Manson trying to get her ready for her date with Foley." Dash turned the page then glanced over at Kwan. "You sure about that outfit?"

Kwan looked down at what he wore, slightly casual, and frowned. "I don't even know where we're going on this date. How am I supposed to know how exactly to dress?" He turned back to his closet to search through the rest of his clothes. "I can't believe Paulina and Sam are such good buddies now. Can you imagine if they had just put aside their differences earlier and just been friends from the start?"

"Well, with the way they met, I don't think there was any other choice but for them to constantly butt heads." Dash got up from the bed and joined Kwan at the closet. "You want to look good, so you should wear the tight pants." He grabbed them from their hanger and shoved them into Kwan's chest. "Yeah, yeah," Dash added before Kwan could argue, "you don't want it to be all about physical attraction. But I'm pretty sure Fenton's not the superficial type that only cares about sex."

Kwan sighed, but he knew his friend had a point about Danny. "So are you excited about your prom date?" He wore a teasing smirk as he stepped away from the closet to change his pants. He didn't often wear the pair of slacks because they hugged just a touch too tightly around his thighs and butt.

Dash shrugged as he scanned through shirt options. "How excited can I be when I'm going with some woman that I'm pretty sure I've never met?" He glanced at Kwan and frowned. "Actually, I'm kind of surprised that I haven't met her. She is kind of pretty. Though, you know, obviously, I would prefer to go with Jazz. But that really isn't an option since she's still at college."

"It could be because Andrea is part of the drama club, and you never really flirted with any of them." Kwan grinned as he leapt on the topic. "So you called her up the other day. How did that go?"

"She was pretty surprised to hear from me actually," Dash said as he pulled out a shirt for his friend to wear. "She couldn't believe Danny would actually give me her number, or that I didn't call her when I first got her number five months ago."

"Think she's warming up to you?" Kwan tugged off the plain white shirt that he was wearing.

"Maybe. I don't know." Dash shrugged, leaning against the closet doorframe as Kwan buttoned up the dark blue dress shirt. "We did end up talking for about three hours though. That's usually a good sign, right?"

"Usually." Kwan tried not to smirk too much. "I'm pretty sure she would have hung up on you within the first ten minutes if she didn't like you at all." He tucked his shirt into his pants and smoothed out his clothing. "Well. How do I look?"

"If he doesn't find you sexy, I will think there is something definitely wrong with him." Dash walked back over to the bed and flopped down on it, leaning back on his arms. "So you think I actually stand a chance with Jazz?"

"You're not the same guy she remembers who used to flirt with almost all of the pretty girls in school. I think she'll like the maturity you've gained over the years." Kwan grabbed his wallet and letterman jacket. "Just don't revert back into being a jerk around her. And hey, you've gotten on Danny's good side. I'm sure he'll talk you up to his sister."

"He pretty much gave me his approval." The corner of Dash's mouth tugged, a small smirk forming. "He's the one that told me to give Jazz a call."

"See? If you had just been nicer to Danny in the first place, maybe you and Jazz could have gotten together sooner."

Dash's mouth pursed as he stared at the ceiling in thought. "I was still too much of a jerk before Jazz went off to college. I don't think I would have stood a chance until you woke me up about not being a complete jerk to everyone."

"Well, that is my job as your best friend." Kwan grinned as he walked toward the door of his room, and Dash got up to follow him. "But speaking of jerks, how weird is it that Williams' being all nice now? He didn't even try anything when he passed me and Danny in the hall. I thought he was out to humiliate us when he overheard about our date when we were talking the other day in the park."

"Yeah," Dash mumbled in response, his thick eyebrows furrowing in thought. The look made Kwan suspicious. "I guess maybe your theory about that ghost doing stuff to people was right."

Kwan paused as they were halfway down the stairs. The mention of the ghost reminded him about what happened in the park. With the auction and the date, he had pushed the memory of that incident out of his mind, mostly. "How exactly did we get away from that ghost? And I'm kind of hoping whatever he did is at least permanent for Williams. Because as creepy as nice Williams is, at least he isn't harassing anyone anymore."

"Well," Dash said, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly, "Phantom showed up to kick the ghost's butt."

Kwan nodded as he eyed his friend. "You didn't mention that before."

Dash shrugged. "It slipped my mind."

Kwan didn't quite believe that. Dash could never shut up when it came to Phantom making an appearance. If Phantom swooped in to rescue them, Kwan would have expected Dash to babble on about it for days. He would have commented on it, but the doorbell rang. He narrowed his aqua green eyes at Dash, who definitely looked relieved to have something interrupt their conversation. Hurrying down the rest of the stairs, Kwan cringed when he saw his mother beat him to the front door.

"Hello," she said pleasantly when she opened the door. "I think Kwan is just about ready."

Kwan could already feel a blush warming his cheeks as he tugged on his letterman jacket, heading for the front door. "I'll see you later, Mom."

"Have fun, dear," his mother said as he tried to pass her. "Don't stay out too late." She pulled him down enough to plant a kiss on his cheek before he could escape.

Kwan kept his head bowed, pulling on his ear as he listened to the door close behind him and hoping that his blush wasn't too noticeable. "Uh, sorry about my mom."

Danny shook his head as he smiled. "It's okay. Your mom's nice." He laughed, and Kwan relaxed somewhat as they walked toward Danny's car. "Though I'm kind of glad this isn't reversed. I think my parents probably would have wanted to sit you down for an interrogation before letting us leave the house."

Kwan stopped and lifted an eyebrow at Danny, who unlocked the car from the driver's side. "Do your parents even know you're going on a date with me?"

"Uh," Danny mumbled, dragging it out as his blue eyes slid away from Kwan. "It really has nothing to do with being embarrassed about you or anything," he said hurriedly, snapping his gaze back onto Kwan. "I just," he shrugged, "I haven't figured out the best way to really bring up that I'm bi to them."

"No, no!" Kwan shook his head as they climbed into the car. "I understand. I wouldn't want you to force yourself to tell your parents if you're not ready just because of me. I guess I got kind of lucky that my parents found out by accident. They were pretty shocked, but they got over it pretty quickly."

Kwan glanced over at his date as Danny started up the car. Danny looked like he might have tried to slick back his hair, but the unruly mess wouldn't be tamed so easily. His pants hugged around the lean muscles of his legs, and Kwan dragged his eyes up over the baby blue sweater that really brought out the color of Danny's eyes. He admitted that he had already taken notice of his attraction toward Danny, but that didn't stop him from appreciating Danny's switch from baggy clothes to much better fitting ones.

"I sure hope my parents are able to get over it quickly." Danny winced, probably thinking about how badly his sexuality could go over with his parents. He pulled the car away from the curb and started driving to- Kwan realized he wasn't even sure where they were heading.

"Your parents probably will," Kwan said. "They seem pretty accepting." They had always treated him and Dash nicely when they were over studying with Danny, though he wondered how Danny's parents would like him after they learned that he was dating their son. "So where are we going?"

Danny flushed somewhat, his gaze flicking briefly toward Kwan before returning to the street. "Um, well, I thought I would make it a surprise. I tried to think of something that you would like, so, um, I hope you do."

Kwan blinked, and for a brief moment, he didn't know how to respond. "I hope you didn't go through too much trouble coming up with something. I would have been fine just going to the movies or something." He shrugged. He hadn't done much dating in the past two and a half years. His last girlfriend was Nadine, who he dated for five miserable months in which she constantly told him that everywhere he took her was boring or that she wasn't having a good time on their dates. Paulina kept telling him to dump her because Nadine was only with him to make her ex boyfriend jealous. Kwan kept wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt, but after he caught Nadine making out with her ex boyfriend in the boy's bathroom of the Nasty Burger, he finally stopped blinding himself to all her flaws.

"It's our first date." A smile pulled across Danny's face. "So I wanted to think of something special."

Kwan nodded, understanding that feeling. He had thought for weeks on where to take Star on their first date and ended up taking her to the aquarium because she had a love of fish. If their relationship lasted, they would look back on this date as the beginning of everything, which kind of added a lot more pressure to make it special and memorable. That didn't help with the nervousness that was already making him sweat.

The car ride was fairly short, but it felt longer with the silence that hung over them. When he glanced over, Kwan could see that Danny was feeling just as nervous. Kwan had realized his feelings toward men long before Danny came to that same realization, but this was his first date with another man. They, at least, stood on equal footing there. The car finally came to a stop in a small parking lot, and Kwan looked out the window to see where exactly they were. He spied a few coffee shops, and there was an ice cream shop, as well as some restaurants. He also noted a few other shops likes a music store and a deli and some kind of antique store. They were all small businesses, the mom and pop type of stores. Kwan climbed out of the car and followed Danny to wherever their destination was. His gaze kept flicking toward each of the names over the doors of shops, waiting to see into which one Danny would lead him.

"Twice Told Tales?" Kwan glanced curiously at Danny, who pulled open the door to the small bookstore.

"Well, I know it's no Skulk and Lurk," Danny said with the tug of a smirk, "but it's a pretty nice place."

Kwan eyed Danny as he passed him and entered the bookstore. Without a doubt, Sam told Danny about the whole fiasco at the Skulk and Lurk that got him banned from the store. "Is she still pissed at me for that?"

Danny laughed and shook his head. "No, she got over it. Besides they dropped the ban on her after about two weeks since she's one of their most loyal customers, not to mention biggest spenders. Keeping her banned meant losing quite a bit of income. But," he shrugged, "the Skulk and Lurk isn't exactly my kind of place."

"Nor mine." Kwan surveyed the bookstore. The bookcases were all made of old wood, and a lot of the books were backed in leather. There was that old musty smell lingering in the store. "But I have to say this is hardly where I expected to go on our first date."

"Yeah," Danny mumbled, rubbing awkwardly at his neck, "but I think you'll probably like this." He led the way through the aisles until they came to an open area with lots of seats set up in front of a podium. A petite woman stood at the podium with her frizzy brunette hair tied back in a rather sloppy bun as she read from a book before her.

Kwan nearly grabbed hold of Danny's arm and gave him a violent shake when he saw the woman. When they entered, he had heard talking, but it didn't register who was talking or why. He snapped his gaze onto Danny, who responded with a nervous smile as he awaited his date's reaction.

"Kiki Adate!" Kwan had enough sense not to shout and disturb the reading. He gaped at Danny, hardly believing that they were standing in the author's presence at that very moment as she read from her latest book.

Danny shrugged with some embarrassment. "I was trying to think of something for us to do," he explained, keeping his voice low too, "and I came across an announcement that she would be here tonight for a reading and a signing. I remembered we had that whole discussion about her books before, so I thought you might like this."

Kwan was seriously tempted to just kiss Danny right there and then, but he resisted. He was a fan of Kiki Adate ever since her third novel came out. He picked it up and got hooked on her writing immediately. They found some open chairs and sat down to listen as the woman continued reading. He almost wished that Danny had given him some forewarning so that he could bring one of her novels to be signed. He got so absorbed in listening to the reading that he missed when Danny got up and disappeared for a moment.

A poke to the arm snapped Kwan out of his daze, and when he looked down, he saw Danny holding out his copy of _Wake_. He could tell it was his copy because his bookmark stuck out of it right where he left it the last time he picked up the book to read. Jerking his gaze back up, he stared at Danny, who was scratching at a pink cheek.

"I may have talked to Dash about this idea, and he snuck out your book to me so that you could get it signed while still having all of this be a surprise," Danny explained.

"If I were actually expecting you to top this, I think you'd be in trouble." Kwan grinned, a nervous excitement building in him when he thought about getting Kiki Adate's autograph. He still couldn't believe that Danny came up with this idea for their date because it was beyond anything he could have imagined. If Danny wanted this to be a special, memorable night for Kwan, then he had definitely succeeded because Kwan wasn't going to forget this night. Ever.


	20. Chapter 20

Danny wasn't sure how his plan for the date would go over, and that made him nervous until he saw the look on Kwan's face when he first laid eyes on one of his favorite authors reading at the bookstore. He couldn't help smiling at the excitement in Kwan's eyes or seeing Kwan babble for a few minutes with the author when they were able to meet her to get his book signed. In that moment, he was really thankful for Dash's friendship so that he could get a hold of the copy of Kiki Adate's book that Kwan owned to have at the ready for tonight so that it could all be a surprise for Kwan.

"Okay. I'll admit it," Kwan said after taking a sip of his water and setting the glass back down on the table. "The poem was _horrible_." He chuckled a little, and Danny liked the sound of it. "But sometimes I get a little overenthusiastic, and I wanted to try to be a good friend at that time. I thought, you know, showing interest in the things Sam like would make her be at least a little more tolerable toward me. I didn't realize how much the people at the Skulk and Lurk would hate the poem. I didn't think they actually _banned_ people for not sharing their same dark and gloomy outlook."

Danny laughed, and when their fingers brushed against each other, it felt like a little shock of electricity dancing over his skin. "I'm pretty sure Sam's over that whole incident by now. And hey," the corner of his mouth pulled upward, his breath catching for a moment when Kwan hooked their index fingers together, "if she can be friends with Paulina, I think you've got a shot."

"That's good. I would hate to be the cause any strife between you and your friends."

"They seem pretty okay with the whole bisexual thing," Danny admitted with a shrug. When the waitress came by with their food, he nearly yanked his hand away before she could catch them but decided against it. They were on a date, and if the woman didn't like it, that was her problem. He waited until she left with a slight wrinkling of her flat nose to speak again. "I think they're happy that you're at least such a nice guy."

Danny watched as Kwan picked up the pair of chopsticks next to his plate and deftly snapped them cleanly in half. When he picked up his own chopsticks, he winced when the split wasn't quite even. He was beginning to think he should have suggested a different restaurant as he fumbled to pick up some of his sweet and sour chicken. When one of the pieces fell from his chopsticks for the fifth time, he started to feel like a fool. That feeling only grew as Kwan was some sort of wizard with his chopsticks, easily picking up his Hunan beef.

"Is this place okay?" Danny asked, trying again to snag a piece of his chicken with the chopsticks. "I mean, you're okay going to a Chinese place? I just-" he shrugged a bit awkwardly. "Sam told me about this place months ago, but I never really had the opportunity to come here. I just thought the food would be good. I didn't really think about, um-"

Kwan chuckled, and Danny bit his tongue to stop his rambling. "It's fine, Danny. Their food is pretty good."

When Kwan grinned, Danny lowered his gaze with a flutter in his stomach. Kwan had a really nice smile. "Yeah, but you probably have stuff like this all the time. Uh, I mean," he snapped his gaze back up to Kwan with a sense of panic, "because your parents probably have their family recipes and stuff that they like to make. Oh god." He dropped his head into his hand, feeling like an utter fool.

"Relax. I get it. And yeah, my mom has a ton of old family recipes. You should see all the stuff my aunts bring over whenever we have big family gatherings." Kwan reached over and took hold of Danny's hand that still held onto the chopsticks. "Try it like that," he said after making an adjustment to the way Danny held them.

Blinking a few times, Danny tried to pick up his chicken again then grinned widely when the chopsticks didn't twist around weirdly and drop the chicken again. "Hey! I did it!" He glanced over to Kwan and flushed in embarrassment at the amused smile on his date's face. He turned his gaze away as he popped the chicken piece into his mouth, chewing on it slowly before swallowing the piece. "So, um," Danny thought quickly for something else to say, "you have a big family?"

"Oh yeah," Kwan said with a chuckle. "I have a bunch of aunts and uncles on both sides, and when they all gather in one place, it can be a headache listening to them all chatter in Cantonese or Mandarin. Then you have my cousins." He sighed dramatically with a roll of his aqua green eyes. "When they found out I was bi, all the guys teased me for a while. Some of the girls wanted to set me up on blind dates." He gave a shudder. "I'm glad none of them actually set me up with someone."

"Me too," Danny admitted out loud as his cheeks steadily turned pink. "I would have been greatly disappointed if you were already dating someone else." His heart was doing some sort of weird stuttering dance in his chest as Kwan smiled.

"Oh, I so don't want them to find out about this yet," Kwan confessed as he cringed. "Not because I'm ashamed or anything," he added quickly before Danny could say anything, though Danny certainly wasn't thinking that. "It's just that if they knew that I was dating someone, they'd all want to meet you. And with my family, that can seem a bit much all at once."

"I hope you got your parents to promise their silence then," Danny said, picking up another piece of chicken. Since fixing his hold, using the chopsticks felt much easier. "I don't often see my aunt, but I do know my mom keeps in touch with her." He groaned a little. "If she heard about us, she might want to sit me down and give me a lecture about men. She's been divorced for quite some time now, and her husband was kind of a jerk. The whole divorce sort of made her bitter toward men."

"I'll keep that in mind. Though hopefully I can convince her that I'm not a jerk if she ever meets me."

"I think she'd like you. You're too nice to have anyone think you're a jerk." Danny dropped his gaze. Their plates were coming close to being cleared, and that disappointed him. He didn't want their date to end too quickly. "Um, so, what are you plans after high school?" They had done of a lot talking during their study sessions, but they had never brought up the topic of after high school. He wasn't entirely sure what Kwan even wanted to do with his life, and that seemed like something he should know if they were dating.

"Well, I think my dad would like me to continue with football," Kwan answered, pushing around some of what remained of his Hunan beef. "I like playing football, but I probably wouldn't have continued with it if it wasn't for Dash. We've been playing together for years, and we'll go to different colleges, so it just wouldn't be the same playing without Dash. But I've got a scholarship, so I'll probably continue playing but I'm not going to be disappointed if I end up sitting on the bench the whole time."

Danny nodded as the waitress stopped by their table again to refill their glasses of water. "But what do you want do?"

"Well, I've always kind of liked tinkering with things." Kwan shrugged, seeming like he wasn't completely certain about a career path yet. "Dash and I like to work on mechanics and animatronics. So there's always that to fall back on as an idea." He laid his chopsticks down beside his plate. "So what about you, Mr. Star Gazer? Planning on getting out there to explore the stars after high school?"

Danny frowned somewhat, shrugging as he gave up on the last bite of his chicken. "Well, I don't really have the grades to make it as an astronaut. But I've picked up quite a bit from my parents inventing a lot of stuff, so I've considered going into engineering. If I'm lucky, I might just get picked for some sort of space operation if they need my engineering expertise."

"I certainly hope you get that chance to live out your dreams."

Danny tried not to let it affect him, but the mention of dreams only reminded him of the ghost that he had to stop. He almost sighed out loud. The thought of ghosts had completely escaped him while he enjoyed his date with Kwan, but now it was slammed right back into the forefront of his mind. Until he did something about that Dream Trickster, he wouldn't be able to rest easy, knowing that more people would have their dreams stolen the longer it took him to get the ghost.

Luckily, the waitress chose that moment to stop by and drop off their check, which saved him from having to think up something else to say. Danny stopped Kwan before the jock could grab his wallet.

"I asked you out so I'm paying." Danny handed the money to the woman before she could walk away. He was sort of happy now that he didn't blow all his money on the auction because he wouldn't have been able to pay for their dinner if he had won. But that didn't stop his disappointment in not being able to go to prom with Kwan. He kind of felt like a hypocrite now after telling Tucker that prom was just a dance and he shouldn't feel bad about not going with Sam. He forgot to ask who won Tucker's auction, and the whole thing made him far too depressed to ask Kwan who placed the high bid on his auction. He was pretty certain he didn't want to know the answer. No matter who won, it wouldn't make him feel any less depressed about not being able to go with Kwan. He almost snorted at himself. He hadn't even wanted to go to prom in the first place.

The waitress walked off with his money, leaving a copy of the bill for him, which Danny shoved into his wallet. After leaving a few bills as tip on the table, Danny stood. The date was almost over, but he didn't want it to end. There would be more dates. At least, he thought everything went well. Unless Kwan was just a really good actor and was humoring him about enjoying the date. He really hoped that wasn't the case. Kwan joined him as Danny started walking toward the exit of the restaurant.

"Then I guess I'll beat you to the punch and ask you out so that I can pay next time." Kwan smirked, glancing out the corner of his eye as they left.

Danny wished that fluttering feeling inside would stop whenever he caught Kwan's eyes and that his face wouldn't burn so much with a blush. "Oh, good," he said with a breathy laugh. "So I _didn't_ completely screw everything up and make you not want to go on another date with me."

Kwan took hold of Danny's hand, lacing their fingers together as he brought the hand up to his mouth and brushed his lips over Danny's knuckles. "Of course I want to go out on another date with you." He grinned, and Danny could feel his cheeks warming, his blush extending even to the tips of his ears. "But just to make it official. Danny, will you go out with me on a second date?"

Some weird nervous laugh bubbled out of him, and Danny wasn't even sure he could classify it as a human noise, though Kwan didn't seem to share that opinion as he stared expectantly at his date. "I'd like that very much," he managed to answer in a shy voice. A sudden chill made him shiver, and Danny's gaze immediately snapped up toward the sky, his eyes darting around for any sign of a ghost daring to interrupt his date. But he didn't sense anything within his range, which left him with an unsettling feeling as his brow furrowed. At the sudden weight falling upon his shoulders, Danny jumped.

"You shivered," Kwan said, rubbing at his neck as he looked away. "So I thought you might be cold."

Danny blinked at him then dropped his gaze to find Kwan's letterman jacket draped over him. Hunching up his shoulders, he was certain there was no possible way for his blush to grow any darker. The night wasn't really even all that cold, but Kwan's jacket was nice and warm, and Danny caught a whiff of that coconut vanilla scent that he now always associated with Kwan mixing with the smell of leather from the jacket. It was comfortable, and he just knew he was going to hate having to return it to Kwan at the end of the night.

"Hey."

Danny halted right beside Kwan when they heard the man speak. He stared at the man before them with a sense of dread, his happy mood fading along with his blush as a frown settled onto his face.

"What do you want, Williams?" Kwan demanded, and Danny was glad he wasn't the only one feeling on guard despite the sudden change in Calvin. Even after everything he talked about with Valerie and the Nightmare Jester, Danny couldn't forget how mean Calvin was in the past.

"To talk," Calvin answered simply, and he didn't show any signs that he had reverted to being a jerk and was about to attack them. "We haven't really had that chance." His gaze flicked toward Danny, who wasn't sure he liked having the jock's attention on him. "With both of you. And we should probably do that."

"About what exactly?" Danny had to resist that urge to immediately change into Phantom when he thought a fight might be coming. He could be okay with Kwan finding out because he trusted Kwan wouldn't say anything to anyone. Calvin, on the other hand, was another story entirely.

Calvin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I've been a complete and total ass to you. Both of you. And I'm sorry."

Kwan exchanged a glance with Danny, and he looked about as uncertain as Danny felt. "You're sorry?" His brow pulled together as he frowned at the other jock. "You did a lot of horrible things to me. To Danny. To a lot of other people. What do you expect us to say? Do you think we're just going to forgive you because you're acting all nice and saying you're sorry?"

Calvin shook his head. "No, I know it's too much to ask to be forgiven just like that. But apologizing is the first step, isn't it? I can't start to gain forgiveness without first trying to talk to you. And I know nothing I say makes up for anything I did in the past, but," he released a heavy sigh, "I guess I'm just not as brave as you and Dash."

"I'm lost. Are you?" Danny glanced at Kwan, hoping he wasn't the only one confused by this whole conversation. Kwan nodded, though he kept his gaze on Calvin. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"I, well-" Calvin shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he looked away. "I guess I always thought if it came out that I was, well, into things that big macho jocks shouldn't be into that I would end up being harassed by other people. I mean, really, how would people look at me if they knew I did crochet?"

Danny tossed another glance toward Kwan, and he swore Kwan looked like he was about to burst out laughing, which was sort of how Danny was feeling too. They, of course, weren't about to inform Calvin that Dash sewed teddy bears and made clothing for them for the children in the hospital though.

"Or that I used to take ballet until eighth grade," Calvin continued, his cheeks starting to turn pink from embarrassment of announcing his secrets to them. "I probably would have gotten laughed right off the team. So I hid it by trying be all macho, and being a bully always seemed like what jocks were supposed to be. And it just pissed me off even more when you and Dash could do whatever you wanted and everyone loved you. You can walk down the hall with your boyfriend, and no one's going to try to punch you in the face for being gay."

"Bi," Danny corrected, and Calvin blinked at him. "We're bisexual. Just because we realized we're attracted to guys, that doesn't mean we suddenly stopped feeling attracted to women too."

"Oh," Calvin mumbled, seeming surprised by that response as if he couldn't fathom that people were capable of liking both genders. "Sorry. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize because it wasn't fair that I was getting angry at you for my own fears of losing popularity by not sticking to the preconceived notions of what a jock is."

Danny was surprised that Calvin would even know a word like preconceived, but he overlooked that point as the mention of fears struck him. When they were discussing what happened to each of the victims that they knew of, Valerie suggested the idea that the Dream Trickster had eaten Calvin's dreams of brutality. But from what Calvin just said, it sounded more like the Dream Trickster took his nightmares of being hated for revealing the true him. If that were true, it explained his boost in confidence to act like a nice guy instead of being a cruel bully.

Reaching up, Danny rubbed at his left eye. He realized that Kwan and Calvin were still talking, but for some reason he was spacing out on what was being said. He thought perhaps it was because he got lost thinking about what the ghost really did to Calvin, but when he returned his attention to the conversation, he found it hard to focus on it. Their voices had that muffled sound as if he was trying to listen to a conversation while holding a pillow over his head. He leaned against Kwan as his eyes slipped halfway shut. Kwan's jacket really was nice and warm. The thought entered his mind with a smile tugging at his mouth. Then he started to slip.

"Danny!" Kwan's shout barely reached him through the fog clouding his mind. Danny caught a glimpse of fear within those aqua green eyes before he surrendered to the pull of oblivion. Warmth and darkness; that sounded pleasant to him at the moment.


	21. Chapter 21

"I didn't do that!" was Calvin's immediate response.

"Of course you didn't," Kwan snapped, kneeling on the ground with Danny in his arms. It happened suddenly. They were talking, Calvin trying to further explain everything and apologizing for his actions, when Kwan felt Danny's weight against him. Then Danny was sliding toward the ground, and Kwan shouted out his name, catching him before his date could drop to the ground and potentially hit his head on the sidewalk. "I'm not blind." He glared at Calvin. "You weren't even touching him, and I'm not a jerk who blames others when they had nothing to do with what happened."

"Okay!" Calvin shouted, throwing up his arms in exasperation. "I'm sorry for pulling the fire alarm in sixth grade and telling the teachers you did it. I was just trying to get out of having to go to gym because changing clothes meant showing off this burn I had on my arm from helping my mom when she was making caramels. I didn't want to have to explain how I got it."

"You do realize that your actions only made you 'popularity' based entirely on fear, right?" Kwan tried shaking Danny, but the other man wouldn't respond. At least keeping up the conversation with Calvin was stopping his panic from reaching the height of making him completely useless. What was he supposed to do in this situation? Their date was going so well until Calvin showed up, and even that didn't completely ruin the date, but now Danny suddenly passed out without any logical reason that he could think of. "You don't even have any real friends. Those idiots that hang out with you just don't want you to turn around and kick their butts."

"Yeah," Calvin mumbled, turning his gaze away. "I can't say I'm really interested in the same kind of things as them anyway. Horror flicks were never really my thing. He's not... dead... Is he?"

Kwan turned a frown onto Calvin, but he checked for a pulse anyway. Relief flooded through him when he felt the steady pulse beneath his fingers as he pressed them to Danny's throat. Until the question was asked, he didn't even consider that as a possibility. How could Danny randomly drop dead without cause? But Kwan still felt shaken. He hooked his arm under Danny's legs and lifted him up as he rose to his feet.

"Is your car around here?" Kwan didn't really want to rely on Calvin's help, even if the other jock was showing a strange new side of himself, but it seemed like the best option at the moment. He could always take Danny's car, but his panic over what happened would keep him distracted from the road if he kept wanting to check on Danny's condition. He decided not to risk that.

"Yeah, it's just up the street." Calvin turned and led the way, and Kwan had to admit the jock was earning some points by not acting like a dick and telling Kwan to get lost, leaving him to figure out what to do with his passed out date alone. "I know I never cared a lot about the los- Er, Fenton," Calvin winced when Kwan shot a glare at him, "but he doesn't have a history of any kind of disease or something to explain this?"

Kwan shook his head with a worried furrowing of his brow. "Not that he told me." His arms tightened slightly around Danny's body as he dropped his gaze to his date. Danny didn't look like he might be in any pain, and that was a relief, though it didn't stop the quick beating of Kwan's heart or that icy cold dread of fear trickling down his spine. With the way his eyes were lightly closed as his head rested against Kwan's chest, Danny looked like he had simply fallen asleep. If it were something that simple, Kwan would be happy, feeling silly for his panic, but he doubted he would be that lucky. Why would he just fall asleep like that? Why wouldn't he wake up when shaken?

Kwan stared at the back of Calvin's head, remembering what happened in the park, and his chest squeezed painfully with new panic. Some strange masked ghost with horns was running Amity Park, slipping into people's heads and doing something that affected the way they acted. In the case of Calvin, that actually seemed like a good thing. With everyone else that he had seen effected by the ghost, he saw it as a bad thing. A very bad thing. What if that happened to Danny? What if the ghost did something and Danny wasn't the same Danny anymore? Kwan didn't think that would change his feelings, but it would hurt to know that something wasn't quite the same with Danny. His heart nearly sank when he considered the possibility that however the ghost might affect Danny could result in Danny not liking him anymore.

Kwan didn't even know if a ghost had anything to do with this. His brain was running in panic mode, grabbing onto worst case scenarios and whispering his worst fears into his head. He tried to ignore it as he got the back door of Calvin's car open and awkwardly maneuvered Danny inside the car. Panic and fear couldn't be allowed to win at the moment. Right now, he needed to keep his focus on doing whatever he possibly could to get Danny help.

"Uh, so," Calvin said uncertainly as he started up his car with an obnoxiously loud rumble of the engine. "Where exactly are we going?"

Kwan frowned, lowering his gaze onto Danny, who he held close to him. Mentioning anything about his thoughts on ghosts and what he thought might be happening around town didn't seem like a wise idea. If it was Dash with him, he would babble out his thoughts without concern, but he didn't need Calvin laughing at him.

"The hospital," Kwan answered. He didn't know how much good it would do going there if this was something doctors couldn't help with, but right now, he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Telling Calvin to drive them to Fenton Works didn't exactly sound like the greatest idea. What if Danny's parents couldn't find a way to help him? Kwan brushed back some of the raven locks flopping down in Danny's peacefully sleeping face and simply stared at him. What if the ghost _was_ involved but it decided it didn't want to let Danny wake up, ever? He clamped his eyes shut. No, he couldn't think like that.

The car ride felt like it took forever to reach the hospital. Kwan checked on Danny several times, but to his disappointment, there was no change in his condition. Danny wouldn't respond to any kind of prodding to wake him. His vitals at least remained stable. His pulse was steady, and his breath was even. Kwan could see the slow rise and fall of Danny's chest as he leaned against him with his head against his shoulder. This actually wouldn't be so bad, if Danny hadn't mysteriously passed out.

"Uh, is there anything I can do?" Calvin asked after he parked the car.

Kwan shook his head as he climbed out of the car. "No, driving us here was great. Thanks." He lifted Danny out of the car. Before he could close the door and start walking toward the doors of the hospital, he paused and turned his gaze to Calvin. "I don't think it was right that you treated everyone the way you did just because you were afraid of showing them who you really are. And I don't know if I can just forgive you. But I really appreciate you giving me the ride here."

"I didn't mean to ruin your date or anything," Calvin said, frowning at Danny in Kwan's arms. "I just - When I saw the two of you, I thought it would be a good chance to talk to you both and apologize for my actions."

"What happened to Danny, it didn't have anything to do with you." Kwan might not understand exactly what happened, but he definitely knew that it wasn't Calvin's fault. "I guess I'll see you around later."

After a small, awkward wave, Kwan closed the back door then turned to walk into the hospital. He stood in the lobby of the hospital, simply staring around with a lost expression on his face. He was brought to the hospital in the past, but usually he was the injured person and he wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to how the process of admitting someone there worked.

"H-Hey!" Kwan said, trying to grab hold of the first person in a white coat that walked past him. "My friend needs help."

The doctor was a woman, a few inches shorter than he was with her blonde hair drawn back out of her face. When she turned to face them, her brown eyes immediately went to Danny. "No visible signs of injury," she noted as she careful checked him over. "What exactly happened? I see nothing that shows he suffered an injury to the head." Her hands were gentle, from what Kwan could tell, as she felt his head seeking any bump or perhaps blood matting his hair to explain Danny's unconscious state.

Kwan shrugged helplessly. "We were just talking with someone when he passed out. There was no explanation for it. I thought bringing him here would be the best course of action."

Her brow furrowed when she heard that explanation. She looked over his shoulder then waved a hand. "We'll take him to one of the examining room to check on him," she said as a male orderly came up to take Danny from Kwan's arms. "In the mean time, if he has any family, you should probably give them a call to let them know what's happened. What is his name? And do you know of any medical conditions he has?"

Kwan watched as the orderly carried Danny away, not wanting to let Danny out of his sight. "Daniel Fenton. And no, I don't think he has any medical conditions."

The doctor nodded. "You did the right thing bringing him here. He's in good hands." She walked off down the hall, following after the orderly.

Maybe it was the right decision, but Kwan hardly felt like it at the moment. He tried to put it out of his mind as he pulled out his cell phone. A nurse sitting at the front desk gave him the stink eye until Kwan exited the hospital to make his phone call. Calvin's car was long gone by that point, and Kwan dimly realized that he didn't actually have a ride home now. It didn't matter. He planned on staying at the hospital for a while, hoping Danny would wake up soon. He had to turn his mind onto something else before a particular question knocked the wind out of him: what if Danny didn't wake up? Quickly, he punched in the familiar phone number to Fenton Works. Usually, he would call Danny's cell phone, but he still remembered the home number too. It rang several times and Kwan began to worry that Danny's parents weren't home before someone finally answered.

"Hello," Mrs. Fenton answered pleasantly, and Kwan winced when he heard a bang in the background. Apparently, they were in the middle of working on something when he called.

"Uh, hi, Mrs. Fenton," Kwan said awkwardly then frowned as something occurred to him. Danny's parents didn't know he was bisexual or that he went out on a date with Kwan tonight. Receiving a phone call from Kwan to inform them that their son randomly passed out probably wasn't going to make them any happier with him dating their son when Danny finally told them. He really didn't want to make a bad impression on them, but they needed to know what happened. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to tell them what happened. "Danny and I were hanging out," that wasn't unusual and wouldn't give away the fact that it was actually a date, "and then Danny just," he hesitated for a moment, "passed out." He chewed on his lower lip. He didn't think he could tell them about his thoughts on ghosts. Having his parents barge in with whatever ghost hunting inventions they could grab might not be the best help for Danny.

"What?" Mrs. Fenton shouted, and Kwan winced at the volume of her voice. "Was it a ghost? It was a ghost, wasn't it?"

"Did you say ghost?" Mr. Fenton could be heard asking in the background.

"So help me, if that ghost hurt a hair on my precious baby, I will make it pay."

Kwan paled. He definitely wasn't going to mention his theory about a ghost doing something to people that caused changes in their behaviors. "I don't think a ghost was involved," and he hoped they bought that lie. He really didn't have any proof that it _was_ a ghost. After all, he didn't see a ghost around anywhere, though it could always be that it was invisible. "I've brought him to Amity Park Memorial Hospital. They're looking at him now to see if they can find out why Danny passed out."

"Jack, get the Fenton Assault - er, Family RV ready!" Mrs. Fenton shouted to her husband.

Kwan lifted an eyebrow when he caught that. Assault what? He was fairly certain that he didn't want to know, and he hoped the roads were clear enough that their driving didn't endanger anyone's life. Danny's parents had arrived on scene enough times when someone screamed ghost that their reckless driving was common knowledge around town. It was a wonder how Danny and Jazz were such normal drivers.

"I - I think things will be okay," Kwan said, but it wasn't very convincing. He really didn't know what was going to happen or even how to help Danny. He wished he did. He wished he had a way of helping Danny right now. "Um, Mrs. Fenton?" He frowned when the phone went silent. There was no dial tone. Just silence. "Oh," he mumbled to himself, realizing that Danny's parents had left their home without bothering to hang up the phone or even mention they were leaving.

When he hung up on the call, Kwan stared at his phone. He tried to think of what else he could do at the moment. Should he call up Sam and Tucker? But they were on a date tonight too, according to Danny and Paulina. He shook his head. They were his best friends, and they would want to know if something happened to Danny no matter what was going on currently with them. Kwan searched through his contacts, scrolling down until he came across Tucker's phone number. He had lent his phone to Danny once when the other man couldn't find his so that he could get a hold of his friend. Afterward, Kwan programmed the number into his phone for emergencies. He never expected to actually have to use it.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Then the voice mail picked up, and Kwan almost growled in his frustration. He couldn't really blame them for not picking up if they didn't want to be interrupted on their date. After the beep sounded, he left a quick message, explaining what happened to Danny and that he brought Danny to Amity Park Memorial Hospital and that he already informed Danny's parents about what happened. When he hung up and tucked his phone back into his pocket, Kwan frowned up at the night sky for several moments. This wasn't how he wanted their date to end. With a sigh, he turned and reentered the hospital, going in search of someone that could update him on Danny's condition.


	22. Chapter 22

What started as pleasant warmth and darkness quickly transformed to cold, terrifying dread. It felt like he was suddenly plunged into the icy waters of a vast sea. Danny thrashed around, struggling to find his way to the surface, but he couldn't tell which way was up and which was down. His lungs burned for air, and when he opened his mouth to gasp, the dark fluid surrounding him filled his mouth, choking him as it tried to fill his lungs. This was it. He was going to die. He had no idea how he ended up wherever he was, but he just knew this was the end. His thrashing lessened as his limbs grew heavier.

Then something caught hold of his arm, dragging him upward. Or at least, what Danny thought was upward. He still couldn't be certain which direction was which. After he was pulled out of the sea, he knelt on the solid surface and coughed, trying to clear his lungs of the fluid clogging them. His bleary eyes stared down, but all he saw was darkness beneath him. Lifting his head, he glanced around, trying to figure out where exactly he was in hopes that it would tell him what happened. He remembered being with Kwan, still on their date, but the jock was nowhere to be seen. Worry set in when the environment around him showed only dim grayness with the sea of inky darkness below him. Then he turned his attention to the one that saved him from drowning in the darkness.

"You!" Danny growled, shooting to his feet as his hands balled into fists. His blue eyes narrowed dangerously in anger. He launched toward the masked ghost, but his enemy vanished before Danny could land a punch on him. Dark smoke swirled around him, and Danny tried to punch at it, despite knowing it was a useless effort.

"Now, now," said the ghost as he coalesced behind Danny, who quickly spun around to face him. "That's a rather rude way to greet someone. And after the trouble I went through to arrange this meeting." A smirk curved across his face as the differently colored eyes lit up with amusement. "You have such a wide variety of dreams. Terrifying nightmares and some rather racy dreams. But I guess those are to be expected from a hormonal teenager."

A blush warmed his cheeks, but that only fueled the anger inside the half ghost. He felt violated knowing the ghost had peeked into his private dreams. "Stay out of my dreams, Dream Trickster," Danny growled furiously.

The ghost snorted, looking rather at ease with everything that was happening. "This," the Dream Trickster gestured around the dreary environment, "happens to be the realm of dreams. Not an easy task to drag a conscious person into it."

That explained some things, but Danny still remained on guard with the ghost responsible for affecting how people act right in front of him. "So why exactly did you drag me in here?" His mouth pressed thin as he watched the ghost for any movement that would indicate he was about to attack. A thought struck him suddenly, making him jerk back a step as the whole world around him felt colder. "This is a trap, isn't it? You dragged me in here to keep me from interfering with whatever you're doing. You're going to keep trapped in here forever, aren't you?"

The Dream Trickster shook his head. "I don't have that kind of power. Pulling you in here is only temporary." He stepped closer, but Danny backed away. "You found out a little about us from that nuisance. You must be working with him if you figured out where I was so quickly last time."

"You're doing harm to people by eating too much of their dreams and nightmares!" Danny shouted and concentrated, very hard, without anything happening. He blinked as he dropped his gaze to his body, confusion washing through him. "I can't go ghost."

"Oh. Did he not tell you everything about our powers then?" The Dream Trickster smirked as Danny turned a glare onto him. "While we are only meant to observe dreams and determine if the person's fear is something that needs to be eaten or not, we do possess the ability to manipulate things. I figured we'd be able to hold a better conversation if you weren't able to use those pesky little powers of yours."

Danny's jaw hurt from clenching it so tightly. Even without his powers, he still knew how to fight, but he would feel a lot better about fighting a ghost with some of his parents' inventions. Then again, if this was a dream and the ghost could manipulate parts of the dream, Danny might not be able to do anything to harm the ghost anyway. After a moment of debating, he folded his arms as he decided maybe talking with the ghost was his best option. So far, the Dream Trickster hadn't attacked.

"So what is all about?" Danny swept his blue eyes around, but there really wasn't anything to see. Could the Nightmare Jester find his way in here? But, on the other hand, would he want the two dream ghosts fighting in his head. "Why are you doing this to people? Eating too much of their dreams so that they no longer have them?"

"These dreams?" The Dream Trickster held up a hand, showing of marbles sized balls of varying colors between each finger. "Or these?" He lifted the other hand. There were black and white and a red, two blues, a green, three yellows, and an orange. The colors must mean something, but Danny couldn't begin to guess what they meant. "I didn't eat them, but they turned out to be useless to my purpose."

"So you can return them to the people you took them from, right?" Danny really didn't want the people affected to live the rest of their lives without their dreams. Though he worried about what would happen if Calvin's nightmares were returned to him. Taking away Calvin's nightmare was probably the only good the Dream Trickster had done so far.

The Dream Trickster shrugged, and the colorful orbs disappeared from his hands. "I suppose I could. I have no need for them."

"Why did you take them?" The question circled through his brain, but Danny could figure out the answer.

"I was searching for a way in," the Dream Trickster explained, and Danny was sick of ghosts being cryptic with him. It was like trying to get advice from Clockwork, who wouldn't give him a straight answer but some cryptic message that he had to decipher on his own.

"A way in where?" Danny brow furrowed. "If you mean into dreams," he gestured all around them, "you seem to do just fine there."

"But not to the one person's dream that I need to get to." Rage and frustration slowly grew in the Dream Trickster's eyes. A crack of lightning streaked the gray sky as thunder rumbled overhead. Danny guessed that was more the ghost displaying his powers of manipulating dreams. But why was it such a dreary looking place?

"So are you going to tell me why you can't get to this person's dream? Or more importantly, why is it so important for you to get to this person's dream? Or am I supposed to play twenty questions?" Danny doubted he was known for being a patient person, and being yanked from consciousness into the world of dreams wasn't improving his mood. He wanted to get back to reality. Kwan was probably freaking out after having his date pass out on him.

The Dream Trickster frowned as he walked around with Danny turning to keep the ghost within his view. His white mask remained cracked, and Danny wondered why the ghost never repaired it, and if Valerie was right about these dream ghosts hiding some sort of hideous scar under the masks.

"There is someone I need to help," the Dream Trickster said as he drew out one of the dream orbs and tossed it in the air, catching it deftly, though Danny felt his heart jump with each toss. What if the ghost dropped it and it shattered? What if it vanished into the darkness beneath them? He caught the orb for the fifth time and turned back to Danny. "A small boy around the age of eight."

"And you can't get into his dream why? And what can you do to help him?" Danny wished the ghost would be a little more forthcoming with his information.

"I want to wake him up." The Dream Trickster stared, no jokes within the seriousness of his gaze. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this." A frown settled onto his face. "He was playing, tossing some stupid toy around, and it ended up getting caught in the branches of a tree. He climbed the tree to retrieve it and made the mistake of looking down. He's scared of heights, and when he saw how high up he was, he was paralyzed with fear. I thought I could help him by skimming off some of that fear so that he wouldn't be as scared. That's part of how we operate."

"Yeah, your buddy Nightmare Jester may have told me a bit about that part," Danny said, already having that dreadful feeling that this story wasn't going to end well.

"I would hardly call us buddies when we've never really met before. I fled that first time I felt him nearing me." A small smirk pulled at the Dream Trickster's mouth before he became serious once more. "I skimmed away some his fear of heights, and it helped, but I made the mistake of letting myself be seen. Usually I'm much better about that, but I slipped up. The boy saw me, and that ended up scaring him far more than the height. He lost his hold on the branch and fell out of the tree. He hit his head pretty hard, and now he's in a coma with a broken leg. I want to wake him up. It's the only way I can make up for that accident. But I can't find a way to reach him."

"Why not?" Danny's mouth suddenly dropped open as he thought of something. "He doesn't dream because he's in a coma?"

"That seems to be how it is." The Dream Trickster nodded, his gaze sliding away as he frowned. "The realm of dreams is sort of connected. It's easy for us to slip from one to another. I thought if I could find the right dreamer, I would be able to find a way to the boy. But nothing is working."

Danny was right. He didn't like the end to this story. The Nightmare Jester didn't have any information to explain why exactly the Dream Trickster was acting the way he was recently, so he could only assume that the Dream Trickster was somehow corrupted and straying from the task they were meant to do. Reality, though, showed that the Dream Trickster was actually trying to help someone. Danny felt a little bad about how he reacted before, but if ghosts would simply telling him what the problem was from the beginning, he wouldn't have to run through this dance of fighting them because he thinks they're plotting something evil.

"So the boy doesn't dream because he's in a coma," Danny said, frowning at the ghost. "How exactly did you think you were going to reach him through other people's dreams then?"

"I had to try something!" the Dream Trickster shouted with another loud crash of thunder responding to his mood. "It's my fault he's in that coma. I have to make this right!"

"And I'll help you!" Danny yelled back as a flash of green sparked through the sky. He paused, staring at it in surprise before returning his attention to the Dream Trickster. "I'll help, but you can't keep hurting innocent people. We'll find a way to wake the boy."

The Dream Trickster's gold and red eyes remained on the sky as the silence stretched between them. "Most people can't manipulate the dream world like that, but then they're usually not conscious of their dreams." He dropped his gaze onto Danny, a thoughtful expression passing through his eyes. "Ghost don't dream, you know."

"They don't generally have a reason to sleep," Danny agreed, trying to follow the ghost's thought pattern but not really making the connection. "Even when they expel too much energy and need to recover, they go into something more like a stasis than actual sleep."

The Dream Trickster nodded, but his eyes felt like they were trying to size Danny up. "But you're not just a ghost. You're half human, so you can still dream, but you also have the powers of a ghost."

"Yeah," Danny said slowly, still trying to connect the dots. "Wait." He held up a hand as he shook his head. "Are you suggesting I use my ghost powers to overshadow the boy and then if I dream, you'll somehow be able to reach him and wake him up?"

"You wanted another way," the Dream Trickster reminded. "It may not work. It's a long shot, I know. But it's better to try anything at this point."

Danny would have argued how illogical it all sounded, but if it actually worked, they would wake the boy from his coma. That possible outcome made it worth it to try _anything_ that might work, no matter how crazy it sounded. "How does this work?" he asked, frowning uncertainly at the ghost. "Do you wake me up and I go find this boy? And how exactly do I get back into the dream world? I mean, falling asleep and dreaming doesn't just happen the moment a person rests their head on a pillow."

The Dream Trickster shrugged. "That sounds like the best plan. A passing dream will do. You don't have to fall into a deep sleep for me to slip into your dreams. A daydream works well enough." He smirked, and the look in his eyes unsettled Danny. "You have plenty of those to choose from."

"After this, you all stop messing around in my dreams." Danny glared, pointing at the ghost even as a blush rose to his cheeks.

"We don't mess with your dreams. Merely observe them. Though I admit I've broken protocol recently."

"I hope you don't slip up like this again. Though if this succeeds, next time just _ask_ for my help. We'll save everyone a whole lot of trouble that way." Danny took one last glance around the gloomy dream world then turned back to the Dream Trickster as he exhaled heavily. "Let's give this thing a shot then. Wake me up."

The ground suddenly disappeared beneath his feet, or lost its firmness. Danny plunged back into the dark sea, coldness wrapping around him again. He saw the Dream Trickster peering down at him, and he thought the ghost was saying something, but with the rush of water filling his ears, Danny was unable to hear him. Darkness swept through his vision as warmth slowly started to return to his body.

His blue eyes opened, feeling slightly heavy in the lingering sleepiness. The darkness of the room was only a relief in that he wasn't blind by some irritating fluorescent brightness. His head hurt quite a bit, and he was going to have words with the Dream Trickster about that later. Being yanked from consciousness into the realm of dreams was definitely not a fun experience. He turned his head and glanced around, nearly groaning out loud when he realized where he was: the hospital. He wasn't a big fan of hospitals, but the boy in the coma would most likely be here too, which meant that Danny wouldn't have to travel far to find him.

Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Danny frowned at the wires attached to him, monitoring his condition. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain all of this to people, especially the doctors who probably had no idea how to explain a young healthy male randomly passing out. He really hoped they didn't want to keep him there for observation to figure out what happened to him. Transforming at once, Danny turned intangible, allowing the wires to easily detach from his body.

"All right, Dreamy," Danny muttered. "Lead the way."

"I prefer it if you didn't refer to me as Dreamy." The ghost sneered unhappily at the nickname. Then he floated up toward the ceiling of the room and phased through it.

Danny smirked somewhat to himself, knowing that he had a way to annoy the ghost. Following after the Dream Trickster, Danny turned invisible as he phased through the ceiling and through walls as they went to find the boy. Walking around the hospital didn't seem like a good idea. He doubted he would go unnoticed by doctors and nurses if he started wandering around looking for someone's room. Any doctors that had examined him while the Dream Trickster kept him in the realm of dreams probably would want to grab hold of him to give him more tests after seeing him awake and walking around.

Another floor and several rooms later, the Dream Trickster finally came to a stop in the room of an eight year old boy. The ghost stared down at the boy with concern in his gold and red eyes. If he hadn't listened to the tale of what happened, Danny might have found the expression odd. Danny touched down on the floor at the foot of the bed and stared at the boy. The room was quiet with only the faint beeping of machines. The boy's brown hair wasn't very long, looking like only a few weeks ago, maybe even a month ago, his head was shaved. He could have simply been sleeping, and Danny would have thought that if he didn't already know he was in a coma.

Danny took a deep breath. "Well, let's get started then."

"No."


	23. Chapter 23

Danny tensed up when he heard someone speak up, taken by surprise. Even the Dream Trickster had surprise in his differently colored eyes, though his posture was tense. He looked ready to spring at the one who spoke up to stop them. When he turned around, Danny frowned at the other ghost the he failed to sense while focusing on the boy that needed help. The Nightmare Jester never failed to pull the creepy card as he stepped out of the dark shadows in the corner of the room with an unpleasant expression twisted upon his face. The two dream ghosts glowered at each other, and Danny could feel the tension in the room pressing in on him.

"You're _helping_ him now?" the Nightmare Jester demanded, dragging his gaze away from the Dream Trickster and onto Danny. "After all he's done, you're going be his accomplice?" His eyes snapped back onto his fellow dream ghost. "What have you done to corrupt the half ghost?"

"I do have a name, you know, Nighty," Danny grumbled, annoyed that he kept being referred to only as "the half ghost" by the dream ghost.

"Nighty?" he repeated and sent a confused glance to his fellow dream ghost.

The Dream Trickster shrugged in response. "It seems he enjoys shortening our names, as obnoxious as it is."

"And what does he call you? Tricky?" The Nightmare Jester snorted.

Folding his arms, the Dream Trickster rolled his eyes. "No, he called me Dreamy."

"Yes, Nighty, Dreamy." Danny waved his hand. "We don't have time for meaningless arguments." He turned to face the Nightmare Jester. "Look. We don't really have a lot of time here. If anyone comes to check on me and finds I'm not in my bed, they're going to be searching all over the hospital to find me. I'd prefer to get this all over with before that happens."

"Why are you trusting anything he says?" The Nightmare Jester nodded his head toward the Dream Trickster, his differently colored eyes narrowing. "He's strayed from the task we've been given, and it's a mess we might not be able to clean up. And now you're helping him create an even bigger mess!"

"Stop acting like you're all high and mighty!" the Dream Trickster snapped, and there was almost a crackle of electricity in the air as they glared at each other. "You don't even know anything that's going on. Stop pretending like you're the hero."

"I know that you've been eating people's dreams when you're _not_ supposed to touch them. I don't know what your end game is, but I'm not going to sit idly by while you hurt more sleepers." The Nightmare Jester had moved forward, and the pair were now practically butting heads with their eyes narrowed in a searing glare.

Danny groaned out of frustration, raking a hand through his hair. They were acting like bickering children, and he was starting to get a headache from listening to them. "Stop!" He glared at both of them, who turned to blink in surprise at him. "We wouldn't be in this situation at all if the two of you actually talked every once and a while." He faced the Nightmare Jester. "Yes, what he was doing was wrong. He shouldn't have been taking people dreams and nightmares like that. But he had a reason." He turned and gestured with one hand toward the boy lying in the bed. "This boy is in a coma, and we want to wake him."

The Nightmare Jester stared at the boy for a brief moment before jerking his glare back onto the Dream Trickster. "That is _not_ what we are meant to do."

"I don't need you to read me the rules!" the Dream Trickster responded, and Danny wanted to smack himself as they returned to their heated glaring contest. "Whether you like it or not, I'm waking this boy up."

"Then I'm going to stop you!"

"Are you two for real?" Danny asked, feeling exasperated with the whole situation.

"What doe s he mean by that?" the Nightmare Jester questioned, but the Dream Trickster merely shook his head, not understanding any better.

"He didn't eat the dreams. He still has them," Danny explained. "After this, he will be returning them." He landed a glare onto the Dream Trickster, one that meant business, no joking around. "That will fix things, right?"

The Nightmare Jester's mouth thinned as he considered it. "Yes, having their dreams returned should return them to normal."

Danny nodded, relieved to know that. "This will be his last effort to wake the boy. If it fails, he gives up." He glared again at the Dream Trickster, who looked like he was about to argue but relented with a grumble. "Will you allow him to try this one final effort?" If there was some major problem with them actually trying to wake up the boy this way, Danny was certain that Clockwork would have stepped in by now to stop them.

The Nightmare Jester didn't look very convinced, frowning at his fellow dream ghost. "Fine," he consented with great reluctance. "But I'm going in too. I want to be sure that you don't mess things up."

"Because _you've_ never made any mistakes on the job?" the Dream Trickster snapped back.

"Well," Danny said as something occurred to him and he reached into his jumpsuit, "if being seen after skimming fears from nightmares is a mistake, then he certainly has made a few. At least, in my memory." He smirked a little at the flustered expression that passed over the Nightmare Jester's face.

"Oh?" The Dream Trickster grinned widely at that news. "So even Mr. Perfect is a bit of a screw up?"

"It was only a few times, and it was always only him," the Nightmare Jester argued, his cheeks turning rosy beneath the black mask as he pointed at Danny with a long, bony finger.

"And Skulker," Danny reminded, remembering his chat with the hunter.

"The ghost doesn't count!" the Nightmare Jester argued.

Danny ignored him as he stared at the special device in his hand that looked pretty much identical to a regular cell phone, except that this one was especially made as a sort of attachment to his jumpsuit. When he was in his human form, it wouldn't be found if someone searched him. He punched in a single word then hit the send button with his thumb. Now he simply had to wait until the message reached its destination.

"Shall we get this ridiculous plan over with then?" the Nightmare Jester asked as he folded his arms.

"I need to do one thing first," Danny said, glancing toward the clock in the room that read a quarter past one in the morning. "We shouldn't be waiting long." He hoped, anyway. Usually, he got a response fairly quickly. Glancing between the two dream ghosts, he frowned. "How come the two of you never actually talk? I mean, before now."

The two ghost stared at each other as if trying to figure out the answer in a silent conversation. Then the Nightmare Jester shrugged. "That's just the way it's always been. For centuries now, we've always worked solo, rarely ever interacting with anyone else."

"I'm glad I'm not one of you." Danny leaned against the wall as he frowned. "That sounds like a rather lonely life."

"It's really all we've ever known," the Dream Trickster said.

"Though I am seeing what he means by communicating with one another." The Nightmare Jester frowned at his fellow dream ghost. "If you had simply spoken to me about what happened before, perhaps we could have worked together to figure this out. Or at the very least, I would have stopped you from messing with people's dreams earlier."

"Well, we can't change the past now."

Danny would have pointed out that they could always ask Clockwork to let them change the past, but he also knew that messing with time could be a very bad thing. At least the two ghosts weren't sniping at each other for the time being. Another six or seven minutes passed before he stood up straight, feeling the familiar shiver of coldness course through him at the presence of another ghost. He tracked the movement until the ghost was right below them.

"He's here," Danny announced right before the ghost phased up through the ceiling then dropped the invisibility act.

"You could have at least given me your location," Technus grumbled, folding his arms as he frowned. "What is it you wanted?"

"Who is this?" the Dream Trickster demanded, suspicion in his voice.

Technus turned around to see who had spoken then quickly jerked away from them. His glasses nearly slipped right off his nose, and his eyes were wide as he floated beside Danny. "They aren't - Are they?" He snapped his gaze to Danny. " _Two_ of them? What mess have you gotten yourself into now?"

"Do all ghosts know about dream ghosts?" Danny's brow furrowed.

"Word gets around." The Nightmare Jester shrugged with a fairly neutral expression on his face.

"Okay. Whatever. They don't really matter." Danny waved a dismissive hand at the two dream ghosts as he turned to Technus. "I got admitted here after Mr. Genius over there," he jerked a thumb toward the Dream Trickster, "decided to forcefully drag me into the realm of dreams. I need you to wipe out all the information about me from tonight. Erase all the tests. Just everything. Make sure you get the hard copies too. I don't want anything about me left. And any samples they took need to be taken back and gotten rid of. I don't want them figuring out anything about me if my blood sample shows up weird because I'm half ghost."

"And why should I do all of this for you?" Technus frowned, not pleased with the large task asked of him.

"I'm sure you wouldn't want us to get involved if you don't do as he asked," the Nightmare Jester said, a slow grin pulling across his face in a way that made Danny shudder from the creepiness.

"What can you do to him? Ghosts don't dream." Danny's brow knitted, and he could see that Technus didn't like whatever the Nightmare Jester implied.

"No," agreed the Dream Trickster, "but they still have fears. And we've picked up a few tricks over the centuries on how to play with them."

"I'll be done with it before the hour is up!" Technus vanished, and Danny felt him moving through the hospital to complete his task.

Relief washed over Danny in a small wave. He really didn't want any nosy doctors poking around him and getting dangerously close to discovering his secret. He would still need to figure out how to explain everything, but he could worry about that later. His focus right now was on the boy.

"Shall we get started now?" Danny glanced between the two ghosts. "Or is one of you going to object again?"

When they shook their heads, Danny sighed. They were really doing this. He turned intangible then dove into the boy, overshadowing him. It occurred to him as he entered that this might be a very dangerous idea. What if he got stuck after overshadowing someone in a coma? He had never overshadow anyone in that condition. But it was too late to worry about that as he settled into the boy's body. The first thing he took notice of sent panic through him: he couldn't move. The boy's limbs wouldn't respond to him. He couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't get his mouth to work to speak. He could hear though. The faint beeping from the machines around the boy's bed reached him.

None of that really mattered though. For his task, he didn't need to get the boy's body up and moving. He simply needed to dream, any little daydream would do, but thinking about it made if it feel a lot more difficult to accomplish. He allowed his mind to wander instead, thoughts passing lazily through his mind. An image began to form with bright stars scattering out in front of him in a sea of darkness. It was the space that he always dreamed of visiting and exploring as an astronaut. He recognized constellations before him. A touch to his hand made him shiver despite the warmth that spread from the touch. Turning his head away from the night sky, he thought he caught a glimpse of Kwan before he was suddenly falling through darkness. He nearly screamed out in frustration, but this was what they wanted to happen. They had used his dream to reach the boy. Or at least, they had pulled Danny's consciousness into the realm of dreams.

His back slammed into the ground, and Danny gasped out, his back aching. The sky was the same dreary gray that he remembered from when the Dream Trickster forced him into the realm of dreams, and he wondered just how badly his head was going to hurt when this was all over. After a few deep breaths, he pushed himself to sit up and look around the area. Immediately, he realized that this wasn't the same place as before. He sat on hard ground with little patches of grass pushing their way up scattered all over the place, but mostly the ground seemed devoid of vegetation. The only thing of note in this place was a house that stood behind him. The white paint on the siding was peeling and turning gray. A window on the second floor was broken, and the ones on the ground floor had the shutters closed tight.

"I suppose we really couldn't expect a nicer environment," the Dream Trickster mumbled, and Danny twisted his head back around to see the two dream ghosts standing there with grim expressions.

"Where exactly are we?" Danny climbed to his feet, dusting himself off when he paused as he noticed something. He was back to his human form. Concentrating on transforming yielded no response. "And why are you stopping me from using my ghost powers?"

"We're not doing that," the Nightmare Jester answered, tearing his gaze away from the house to stare seriously at Danny. "We've managed to actually enter the boy's mind. I don't think we've ever reached this deeply into anyone's mind. I didn't think it possible, to be honest."

"Great. So we're kind of walking blind here then?" Danny sighed tiredly.

"On the bright side, if we managed to make it this far, we might actually stand a chance at waking him," the Dream Trickster said, hope sneaking into his voice.

"Do either of you have a plan for this?" When silence followed his question, Danny sighed again. "Okay. Winging this thing then."

"Might as well go inside." The Nightmare Jester led the way toward the house, and the door squeaked loudly when it was opened.

"So I have a question," Danny said, frowning as they entered the house, the floor boards creaking under their feet. Everything seemed louder in the silence of this realm. "What's up with these dreams? I mean, when you pulled me in last time and now this time too, it's all dark and gloomy. Is it like this for everyone?"

"We aren't normally in the habit of dragging conscious people into this realm, so I can't honestly say," the Dream Trickster said as he peeked into one of the rooms of the house. "Though I would venture to guess that each dreamscape is a reflection based on the person's mind."

"Are you trying to say that my mind is dark?" Danny frowned, not sure he liked what the ghost was implying.

"Given the sort of nightmares you have, I'm not surprised your dreamscape would be dark," the Nightmare Jester confessed from the top of the stairs. "I wouldn't say that's necessarily a bad thing though. You've experienced a lot of horrors in your life. You nearly died when you acquired your ghost powers. That's not an experience that someone could walk away without scars. You've seen and experienced things that would probably leave most curled up in a ball and babbling nonsense while losing control of all bodily functions. You have fears that darken your mind and haunt your dreams. The fact that you can stand up in the face of those fears shows that you are no coward. You shouldn't let the fact that your dreamscape is bleak make you feel inferior in any way."

"O-Okay." Danny blinked, but he supposed the Nightmare Jester would know far more about the meaning of a person's dreamscape than he would. "So what exactly are we looking for?" They met again in the front hall of the house after having checked the ground and second floor rooms.

"The boy, of course," the Dream Trickster said as if it should be obvious, rolling his eyes. "This is his mind, his dreamscape. He should be here somewhere. If we can find him, we might be able to encourage him to wake up."

So they had a sort of plan. Danny huffed out a breath. It sounded crazy. But what else did they have to try? "There's still the basement," Danny said and walked around to find the door leading into the basement. Some of his nightmares started this way, and Danny swallowed as he pulled open a door to find stairs leading down. In his nightmares, he would walk down them and find his parents in the laboratory, dissecting a ghost. When he got closer to the examination table, he would find that it was his ghost half. Danny had to stop halfway down the stairs to look down at himself. Relief flooded him when unlike in the nightmares, he found his body clean of blood and organs hanging out. This wasn't his nightmare. He repeated that in his mind as he breathed out slowly then continued into the basement.

Boxes and old furniture filled the basement. Cobwebs spread out everywhere, and everything was covered in layers of dust. Danny coughed. It was a dream, but it felt real, and the dusty, moldy air clogged his lungs. He pulled up his shirt to cover his mouth as they walked through the basement, carefully making their way around so that they didn't knock anything over and send the boxes and furniture spilling into a giant mess to block their way.

When he heard screaming from the other side, Danny spun on the balls of his feet and darted off toward the source. The Nightmare Jester joined him, and they soon reached where the Dream Trickster stood. Crouched in the corner of the basement with his head buried in his knees and his hands over his head was the boy stuck in the coma. He was still screaming out in terror, and around them the house shook, boxes threatening to topple over onto them.

"He just looked at me and started screaming," the Dream Trickster said immediately as if he expected them to blame it on him.

"You are rather creepy," Danny said as he pushed past the ghost and moved toward the boy. "Hey," he said in a gentle voice as he crouched down before the boy. The house groaned like a powerful wind was blowing outside. He worried if too much shaking happened, the house would come down on top of them. It didn't seem very stable. "I'm Danny. What's your name?"

"C-Colin," the boy said, sniffling as he lifted his head to glance at Danny. He rubbed at his eyes as fat tears rolled down his cheeks. "You don't have-" He placed his hands at the sides of his head with the index fingers raised to indicate the horns the two dream ghosts had.

Danny smiled kindly. "I don't," he agreed, and he felt a little thankful that he wasn't in his ghost form at the moment. That might have only scared the boy more. "But it's okay. You don't have to be afraid of them."

"But they're scary." The boy hiccupped, his green eyes straying past Danny toward the two ghosts. "They won't leave me alone." A scream howled from outside, and the boy flinched, trying to draw himself into a smaller ball. "They won't let me leave this place. They're going to eat me if I leave."

"You see those two over there." Danny pointed behind him at the dream ghosts, who apparently decided to leave this whole thing to him, and it was obvious that Colin did from the terror in the boy's eyes. "They're my friends. They're not going to let anyone hurt you. They're the good guys."

Colin frowned, doubt flickering in his eyes. "But they're scary looking."

"They're just misunderstood." Danny smiled somewhat, but it didn't seem to convince the boy. "Sometimes things that look scary really aren't. You can't always judge people just based on how they look. Some scary people are actually really nice. Do you want to try saying hello to them?" He offered a hand out to the boy.

Colin hesitated, staring at the hand. Slowly, he uncurled from his ball and placed his hand into Danny's. They stood up, and Danny led the boy over to where the two ghosts stood. They were eying the ceiling above them as the groaning continued. They knew the house wouldn't stand much longer, and they needed to hurry up and convince the boy to leave with them before it was too late.

"This is the Dream Trickster," Danny gestured to the one in the white suit, "and the Nightmare Jester." He moved his free hand to indicate the one dressed in black. "They have pretty funny names, don't they? I like to call them Dreamy and Nighty."

Colin's mouth twitched, almost smiling in response. "Why do you wear those masks?"

The pair glanced at each other. Then the Dream Trickster crouched down before the boy. "You know about superheroes, right?" He was mimicking the way Danny spoke, and the boy nodded. "Well, we're sort of like that. We have to keep our identities secret while we protect people like you from the bad things."

Danny didn't think that was the real reason, but Colin nodded his head, seeming to understand why they needed the masks. "We're going to get you out of here. Okay?"

The fear still showed in Colin's eyes, but he pressed close to Danny's leg and nodded his head. The two ghosts took the lead, weaving through the junk in the basement and back to the stairs. Danny placed a comforting hand on the boy's head as they followed and climbed back to the ground floor. The howling wind rocked the house, and Colin screamed out, backing down the stairs as he clapped his hands over his ears. A loud crash sounded from the behind them, and when he turned back, Danny saw the ceiling of the basement had started to cave in. If they were a few seconds slower, they would be caught under the debris.

"We can't stop." Danny crouched down. "Get on my back. We need to move fast. This house is coming down."

Once Colin was on his back, Danny stood and darted up the remaining steps. Loud crashes sounded all around them as the house began to fall into ruins. The two ghosts were already at the front door, and Danny sprinted to catch up to them. He barely managed to pass through the doorway before the house fell, shooting out a cloud of dust that forced Danny to stumble a few steps forward and made him and Colin cough.

"What now?" Danny shouted over the wind that whipped around them and made the particles of dust feel like they were cutting into his flesh.

"We have to reach a higher level," the Nightmare Jester yelled back, and it was hard to make out where the ghosts were in the dust still clouding around them.

Colin screamed, clutching tighter to Danny, who looked barely in time to dodge out of the way as a clawed hand reached for them. The sharp nails tore at his arm, scraping down it and tearing into the flesh. Danny ground his teeth, growling at the pain. He ran forward, weaving among grabbing hands and ignoring each swipe that cut into him. When he finally broke free from the dust cloud, he was out of breath, sweaty, and blood spilled from various places. Dreams hurt a lot. Colin cried against his shoulder, and Danny was sorry he had to experience this.

"There!" the Dream Trickster said, rushing past Danny toward a dark spot before them. It was big enough to admit an adult, but it was shrinking. Danny sprinted, and the Nightmare Jester followed just a step behind him. The Nightmare Jester gave him a hard shove, pushing him through the hole before lunging through it himself. The edge of his coat caught when the hole closed on it, but the Nightmare Jester merely ripped it free, not caring that a portion of the coat remained behind. They had made it out of that deep dreamscape.

"Are we safe?" Danny asked, wincing when he remembered Colin still clinging to his back. He didn't want to worry the boy, but he needed to know what was to come next, if anything.

The two dream ghosts glanced around, then the Dream Trickster made a gesture with his hand. The darkness around them suddenly brightened, the sky turning blue and fresh grass spreading beneath their feet. A white house appeared before them in good repair, and a tree sprouted up to their right.

"That's my house!" Colin said when he lifted his head from Danny's shoulder.

"We brought you home," the Dream Trickster agreed with a smile. "You should be safe now."

Danny bent down, and Colin hopped off his back. He watched as the boy darted for the back door of the house. Colin stopped before he reached it and turned to face them.

"I'm sorry I thought you were scary," Colin said, bowing his head to stare at his feet. "You're actually pretty nice."

"We're just happy we could get you home safely." The Dream Trickster smiled fondly at the boy, who grinned back at him then disappeared into the house. "And I believe it's time for us to go." He and the Nightmare Jester both took hold of Danny's arms, and darkness swam before his vision.

When everything cleared, he was standing in front of the boy's bed in the hospital again. Danny glanced at both ghosts then turned his gaze onto the boy. Colin's brow wrinkled slightly, and after a moment of struggling, he managed to get his eyes open. He glanced around the room before he finally took notice of the three of them, and a small smile spread onto his face.

"Thanks for saving me from them," Colin said, his voice hoarse.

"Your parents are going to be very happy to see you awake," Danny said, and his gaze was drawn to the clock. It was now almost three in the morning. It hadn't felt like that long when they were in the dreamscape. "But we have to go now. There are other people to help."

Colin nodded his head. After yawning widely, his eyes slipped shut again. Danny hoped he had pleasant dreams.

"Next time you guys have a problem," Danny turned to the two ghosts, "just tell me. Okay?" He folded his arms and winced when the movement aggravated one of the injuries he received from the dream. His mouth thinned as he realized that the injuries carried over, which he hadn't expected. How did that work anyway? Shouldn't his injuries have disappeared since it was only a dream? But maybe it was because the dream ghosts dragged him into the realm of dreams, which wasn't the same as falling asleep, that the injuries became real.

"We'll try not to make mistakes like that again," the Dream Trickster said, looking ashamed to have caused so much trouble. "But we'll keep that in mind." He turned to the Nightmare Jester. "Want to help me return the dreams?"

His fellow dream ghost considered then nodded. "I have to make sure you don't screw up again." Then he looked toward Danny. "Thanks for helping us." They both waved then left the hospital to return the dreams taken.

Danny sighed out, glad to have everything resolved and the boy awake from his coma. He transformed back into his ghost form, as when he reappeared from the dream world, he was human. Then he moved through the hospital, tracking down Technus' location. He checked that no one was around before speaking.

"Did you get everything?" Danny asked, not wanting to leave any evidence of his presence in the hospital tonight. He couldn't wipe out people's memories, but maybe the doctors would question if he was really there if their records were all gone.

Technus nodded as he sat among servers, which Danny guessed housed the hospital's records on all their patients. "All digital records of your visit has been erased. I got all the hard copies." He pointed to a file beside on which sat some vials of blood. "And the samples. I also took the liberty of erasing all the security feeds from tonight. It would suspicious if it was only parts of here and there. If the whole thing is gone, it could be chalked up as a malfunction with the cameras."

Danny breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for doing this, Technus. I really owe you."

"I'm going to hold you to that." Technus picked up the file and samples as he floated off the floor.

"As long as it's not illegal or harmful to people or causes destruction to the real world."

"That's rather limiting." Technus frowned, pursing his lips. "What do you plan on telling whoever it was that brought you here?"

"I'm still working on that." Danny scratched at the back of his head. He didn't have the time to really think of how to explain everything to Kwan while he was working with the dream ghosts to wake Colin from his coma. "I'll see you around later, Technus. Try not to get into any trouble."

Technus turned his head, his gaze clearly glancing over all the machinery in the room. After a moment, he grumbled before leaving the room without touching the technology that he probably could have used in a thousand different ways.

A smirk twitched at Danny's mouth. Technus at least wasn't stealing every bit of technology he came across to use in some take over the world scheme. He left the hospital, flying through the early morning sky. Since his presence at the hospital was erased, he decided it probably wasn't best for him to stick around and answer questions when the doctors couldn't find their records on him. That could be awkward.

When he reached his room at Fenton Works, Danny reverted back to human, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and fall asleep. Two trips into the realm of dreams apparently left him rather exhausted. But his body still ached from the cuts he received while running through the sand storm of grabbing hands, and without the adrenaline pumping through him, the injuries felt worse than he originally thought. He would heal up quickly now that he was home, but he still had to clean the wounds up and make sure he didn't get any infections.

Danny made his way down the hallway, yawning widely as he reached the bathroom. Even in the darkness, he could find his way easily to the cabinet under the sink that had the first aid kit. He crouched down and opened the door then winced as the contents spilled out with a loud clatter. Scrambling to put things away, he prayed the noise wasn't enough to wake his parents.

"Freeze!" shouted his parents, making Danny tense up as the lights flicked on, nearly blinding him. "D-Danny!"

He barely had a chance to speak before his mother had him wrapped tightly in her arms.

"Oh, Danny!" She pulled back, placing her hands to the sides of his face as she stared at him, tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. "We were so worried when your friend called!"

"What?" Danny blinked at her in surprise.

"That boy you've been studying with. What's his name?" She turned to glance at her husband.

"Uh," his father said, scratching the side of his head as he tried to recall the name. "Quan or something."

"Kwan called you?" Danny wasn't sure why that surprised him. Why wouldn't Kwan call his parents after Danny passed out during their date? He decided to blame it on his shock of his parents hugging onto him as if they thought he died. And exhaustion. He was ready to pass out at that point.

"Yes, he told us what happened. We were scared out of our minds when we got to the hospital and doctors said they had no explanations for what happened to you." His mother wore a watery smile as she ran her fingers through his raven locks. "We thought-" She shook her head, pain showing in her expression. "Never mind that. How did you get home? And," she frowned as she looked him over, "why are you all cut up?"

Danny forced an awkward laugh. "Well, it wasn't really anything serious, so I didn't think I needed to stay at the hospital. Um, they suck anyway." After all the injuries he received from bullies and ghost hunting, he learned how to treat his injuries without need of going to a hospital. He got out the first aid kit, but his mother took hold of it and started disinfecting his wounds with a concerned expression on her face.

His father stared at him, and Danny swallowed nervously at that suspicion leaking into his father's dark blue eyes. Then a grin cut across his expression. "That's my boy!" He probably would have given Danny a hard slap on the back if his wife wasn't currently taking care of the cuts he received.

His mother frowned severely as she turned her violet eyes onto her husband. "I still think it might be wise to take him back to the hospital to have them check on him."

"Nonsense!" His father snorted at the suggestion, and Danny was relieved that his father could sometimes seem overly oblivious. "We know plenty about treating injuries in the field. Didn't you stitch me up just last week?"

"Yes, but we still don't know what caused Danny to pass out like that." His mother carefully dabbed at one of the cuts on his arm, and Danny hissed at the stinging sensation. "And we'd like to know how you got all cut up like this." She stared firmly at her son in that way that made Danny gulp because he knew she wouldn't let him get away with trying to brush it off.

"The hospital _really_ isn't necessary," Danny insisted firmly. "And can we do explanations later?" He covered his mouth as he yawned widely. "I'm pretty tired. It's been a long night."

"You promise to tell us everything?" his father said, folding his arms over his broad chest. "And I do mean everything."

"That's right." His mother pinched his cheek. "We're not going to buy any excuses this time, young man. Not after you give us heart attacks like that."

Danny glanced between his parents, and he found himself slowly coming to a decision. He sighed as he bowed his head. "Yeah," he mumbled, "I promise I'll tell you everything in morning." His parents gave him hugs, his mother kissing him on the temple. After they said goodnight, Danny returned to his bedroom and collapsed onto his bed, dragging his blankets up over him. With the thoughts circling around in his head about what he was going to tell his parents tomorrow, he didn't think he would be able to get any sleep. But once he was curled up with his head pressing into his pillow, his eyelids felt too heavy to keep open and slipped shut. When sleep came for him, he welcomed it.


	24. Chapter 24

Kwan raked a hand through his hair. After he hung up the phone when Tucker didn't answer, he headed off to find the doctor that was looking after Danny. She couldn't tell him anything he managed to find her. They were running tests on him, but so far, they couldn't find anything abnormal. It was really as if he merely fell asleep and didn't want to wake up, which only increased Kwan's worry. The doctor showed him to the room where Danny was, and Kwan sat at his bedside, praying that Danny would simply wake up. When he was finally sitting still with nothing else to busy him, the panic had its chance to claim him. The terrible possibilities returned in full force, his mind coming up with hundreds of ideas that involved Danny never opening his eyes again.

It wasn't long before Danny's parents showed up, and Kwan heard them stopping almost everyone on the floor asking where to find their son. When they burst into the room, Kwan immediately made room for them, not wanting to be in the way. Despite their reaction from his phone call, Kwan was surprised to see that they didn't come charging into the hospital room with weapons at the ready to blast away the ghost they thought might have hurt their son. Mrs. Fenton was at the bedside in the blink of an eye, taking hold of Danny's hand as she stared down with concern in her violet eyes. He heard plenty of whispers from other parents about how Danny's parents let their crazy obsession with ghosts make them lose sight of taking care of their children. But if they could see Mr. and Mrs. Fenton at that moment, they wouldn't be able to make that claim. It was clear from just a glance as they worried over their son just how much they loved him.

"Thanks," Mr. Fenton said, his voice thick with emotion as he dropped a large hand onto Kwan's shoulder. He nodded, and there was pain in his blue eyes, the pain of a parent fearing for his child's life. "You're a good friend."

Kwan nodded in response. "I'll just - I'll leave you alone with him." He really didn't know what else to say or do, so he stepped out of the room. He wanted to stay and be there if Danny woke up. But what could he really do? He didn't know anything about what really happened to Danny. He was completely useless at a moment like this.

When he stepped out of the hospital, Kwan pulled out his cell phone and punched in a phone number. Dash answered a few rings later, and after some rambling explanations from Kwan, he agreed to come pick him up. Kwan paced around for what felt like hours until Dash pulled up in his car nearly half an hour after they ended their call. He climbed into the car and immediately started biting his thumbnail, practically working on tearing the top part right off.

"Stop that!" Dash smacked his hand away from his mouth. "You're not going to be any good if you stress yourself out like that. Fenton's going to be fine. Have a little faith in him."

"Dash, he passed out!" Kwan shouted, wondering how his best friend could be so calm about this. "For absolutely no reason! I tried to wake him, but it was like he was dead to the world. The doctors have no explanation for what happened to him either." He frowned when he saw the way Dash paled slightly. Did Dash know something about what happened? But why wouldn't he tell him then?

They spent most of the night up talking, or rather Kwan spent most of the night rambling out his worst fears while Dash tried to help calm him down. At some point, he finally fell asleep, though he wasn't really sure how he managed to with the way his mind kept running. In the morning, he felt exhausted, and his mind picked up where it left off when he finally managed to slip into sleep. He wanted to head immediately to the hospital to check on Danny, but Dash forced him to sit down at the kitchen table and have some of the breakfast that his mother cooked up for them. Even though she likely knew that something had happened, Mrs. Baxter didn't asked them anything about it. The eggs and bacon were probably delicious, but they felt like lead sliding into his stomach and settling there like a giant lump.

Silence filled the car ride back to the hospital, and Kwan was pretty sure that it was starting to irritate his friend. His rambling probably wouldn't help Dash's mood either though. After they parked in the hospital's parking garage, Kwan had to restrain himself from racing off to Danny's hospital room to check on him. He walked at a very controlled pace with Dash at his side as they headed for Danny's room.

"Kwan," Dash said, dropping a hand onto his friend's shoulder, "I'm sure this is all going to work out. You'll see. Fenton's going to wake up, and everything is going to be okay."

Kwan knew Dash was trying to cheer him up and ease his worries, but it really wasn't helping him much. His fears kept trying to catch up to him, and he had to restrain himself from biting on his nails in worry. He turned into the room where he watched over Danny until his parents arrived and froze in the doorway. His breath stalled in his throat as his heart practically stopped beating in his chest. New panic set in, replacing all the fears from last night. He was going to die young at this rate, or start getting gray hairs.

"Are you sure this is the right room?" Dash asked, walking past him and glancing around the hospital room. Things looked basically as they were last night except for one vital piece: Danny wasn't lying in the hospital bed.

"This is the exact room he was in last night," Kwan said, his voice taking on that crazy waver of his increasing panic. What was happening? Why wasn't Danny in the bed? Did he wake up? Hope started to sneak its way into him at that thought. If Danny woke up, then maybe everything really would be all right. But he wouldn't let that hope grow too much. He needed answers to be certain.

"Kwan, wait!" Dash shouted when his friend spun around and darted out of the hospital room.

Kwan raced back to the nurse's desk at the front of the floor. "Where's the patient that was in room two-sixteen?" Dash arrived at the desk moments after him.

The woman at the desk blinked owlishly behind her glasses that seemed just a touch too large on her face. She turned her gaze onto the computer in front of her as the bangs of her strawberry blonde hair fell down into her eyes. After a few taps on the keyboard, she glanced back at him with a frown on her face.

"I'm afraid we have no records of any patient currently using that room," she told him in a small, shy voice. "Are you sure that's the right room?"

"Yes!" Kwan shouted, frustration rolling over him. He wasn't some idiot that was incapable of remembering a simple room number.

"I apologize for my friend," Dash said kindly, smiling charmingly at the nurse. "He's a bit frazzled after happened last night. A good friend of ours had a sort of fainting accident, and he's been worrying all night."

"Oh," the nurse said as her eyebrows lifted. "Yes, I'm sure that would make anyone worry. Perhaps if you give me a name? The doctors may have had him moved since last night if his condition changed."

"Daniel Fenton," Kwan answered at once, feeling impatient even though it was making him sound rather rude.

The woman worked at her computer for another moment, and her frown returned. "I'm afraid there's no record of a Daniel Fenton visiting the hospital recently."

"That's impossible!" Kwan shouted, slamming a hand down on the counter. "I was just in here last night. I talked to a doctor." He scrambled through his memory, trying to call up what her name was. At the time, remembering the doctor's name didn't seem all that important. "Doctor - I think it started with a B. Brown? Bernard? Burns?"

"Oh, you mean Doctor Bethe!" The nurse smiled then frowned. "I'm afraid she doesn't come back on shift until this afternoon. Perhaps I could arrange for them to give you a call when she arrives?"

"Here. Call this number." Dash snagged a pen and jotted down his cell phone number on the back of a business card sitting nearby. Afterward, he grabbed hold of Kwan and all but dragged his friend out of the hospital. He didn't release his hold on Kwan's arm until they were in the parking garage. "Kwan, you've got that crazy look in your eye."

"How do you expect me to be calm?" Kwan shouted. "Danny is missing!" He swung an arm back toward the exit of the hospital. "They apparently have no record that he was ever there. And you're acting like this is how things work every day! Join me a little in the land of panicking!"

"Kwan," Dash said, using his irritatingly calm voice as he placed his hands on his friend's shoulders, "take a breath. We'll talk to Fenton's parents. They came here last night to see Fenton, right? Maybe they took him home. I don't know why there would be no record of Fenton being at the hospital. But before you go all crazy with panic, let's see if Fenton's parents have anything to say. Okay?"

Sometimes Kwan hated that. When did Dash become the calm sensible one? "Fine," he mumbled, trying to relax and let some of the panic go, but it was hard. He worried about Danny, and he didn't think it would stop until he saw Danny again and knew that he was all right. They walked back to Dash's car, and after getting in, Kwan slumped against the passenger's seat. He tried to let his mind wander or think of nothing as Dash started the car and pulled out of the parking spot. It wasn't easy, and his mind kept turning back to Danny.

"So how was the date?" Dash asked then winced. "I mean besides the whole passing out thing. You didn't really say anything about the date beyond that."

"Huh?" Kwan blinked, but of course Dash was just trying to distract him. He knew it, but he was thankful for something to take him mind away from his worries. "Like you didn't know I was going to love what he had planned." Kwan glared at his friend, but a grin found its way to across his face. "I can't believe he thought of that. And now I have Kiki Adate's autograph. And she actually answered some of my questions!" His smile fell as he realized something. "And the book is in Danny's car because I decided not to bring it into the restaurant after we left the bookstore." The autographed book seemed less important when he thought about Danny.

"He's going to be fine."

"Will you stop saying that?" Kwan shouted as Dash parked his car in front of Fenton Works. "You don't know that!"

"Maybe I don't," Dash agreed as he turned to face his friend. "But I'm not going sit here being negative the whole time. Have you ever known Fenton not to come through in a pinch?"

"I hardly think this is the same as dragging his grade up from near failing," Kwan returned flatly.

"Whatever! Let's just go talk to his parents." Dash got out of the car and headed up to the front door. After taking a moment to sigh and shake his head, Kwan followed after him. Dash already rang the doorbell by the time Kwan joined him on the doorstep. What were they going to tell Danny's parents? Kwan didn't want to know how they would react. He was becoming the bearer of bad news for them where their son was concerned.

"Oh, hello," Mrs. Fenton greeted them after she opened the door. She blinked her violet eyes in surprise. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"Um, well, you see," Kwan said, fumbling for how to explain.

Dash sighed out noisily when his friend didn't continue. "We went to see Fen - Danny this morning. We were worried about him, so we wanted to check on how he was doing. But he wasn't in the hospital room." Dash frowned, and Kwan noticed the lack of response from Mrs. Fenton so far. Dash just told her that her son was missing. Why wasn't she freaking out over that fact? "We talked to the nurse, but she said there was no record of Fen - Danny being admitted into the hospital last night. Since you and Mr. Fenton visited him last night, we thought maybe you might have some idea about what happened."

"I'm glad Danny has such good friends." Mrs. Fenton smiled at them. "Tucker and Sam arrived earlier. Are you boys hungry? Danny's still eating."

"Uh, no, we had breakfast already," Dash said, sounding as stunned as Kwan felt. Mrs. Fenton stepped aside to allow them to enter her house.

"Wait. Danny's here?" Kwan questioned, his head spinning at the news. He had been so worried about him, but Danny was here, and he was awake. Kwan felt like he needed to sit down to absorb that fact. All that worrying, and Danny was perfectly fine.

"Of course." Mrs. Fenton closed the door after them and led them into the kitchen where they found Sam and Tucker fussing over Danny. Kwan frowned when he saw lingering cuts upon Danny's face and arms. Those weren't there when he last saw Danny. What had happened since he left the hospital last night?

"Kwan!" Danny nearly choked on his mouthful of pancakes when he glanced up and saw the two jocks in the kitchen.

Kwan hesitated. He didn't want to out Danny to his parents, but he was so relieved to see Danny awake. Rushing over to the table, Kwan wrapped his arms around Danny, hugging him tightly. "You scared me to death, Danny!" he babbled, ignoring the creak of the basement door as Mr. Fenton joined everyone else in the kitchen. "I didn't know what to do when you just passed out like that."

"And we're still waiting for an explanation on that," Mr. Fenton said before Danny had the chance to open his mouth. "You said you would tell us everything."

Kwan pulled away from Danny and glanced toward the man. His blue eyes stared firmly at his son as he folded his arms. Kwan gulped at that look, immediately backing away from Danny to put space between them. He had never seen a look like that on Danny's father. Did he mess everything up for Danny by the way he acted? He winced and really hoped he hadn't, and that Danny wasn't angry with him for it.

Danny glanced around then sighed. "Right. I did promise that. You all might as well take a seat then."

"Danny, what exactly are you going to tell them?" Sam whispered as both she and Tucker look worried for their friend.

Kwan's brow furrowed as he took a seat next to Dash. He could see the exhaustion on Danny's face and wondered if he hadn't gotten enough sleep last night. Passing out or fainting wasn't exactly something he knew a lot about, though he did know about getting hit hard enough in the head from football to blackout for a short period and knew that it felt nothing like sleeping. It was possible that even if Danny only woke a little while ago, he might not feel rested at all.

"I thought about this last night," Danny explained, not bothering to whisper back to his friend, and Kwan's brow knitted even more at that answer. "After what happened, I think they deserve to know the truth. I can't put them through something like that again when they have no idea what's going on."

"I'm curious to know how you erased all the records," Dash said, and Kwan snapped a frown onto his friend. Why was Dash acting so calmly about all of this? He narrowed his aqua green eyes, now thinking about how Dash didn't seem to freak out about this as much as he did. He thought it was simply because one of them needed to be calm, but now he thought maybe he was wrong about that.

"I'll get to that." Danny glanced toward his parents, who sat on the other side of Kwan, which didn't make him feel very comfortable if they got angry at him for anything. Mr. Fenton kept his arms folded as his gaze remained on his son. Mrs. Fenton had one hand over the other as they rested on the table, and she waited with alert, curious eyes. "I guess the first thing I should start with is," Danny took a breath, "last night Kwan and I weren't simply hanging out. We were on a date."

"What?" his parents shouted, and Kwan winced, inching away from them.

"Why didn't you just tell us?" Mrs. Fenton questioned, frowning with a hint of hurt in her eyes.

"Son, you know we love you no matter what, right?" Mr. Fenton looked just as hurt about not being told the truth.

"I know." Danny lowered his gaze to his plate, absently pushing around what remained of his pancakes. "I just wanted to wait until I felt ready to tell you. I promise I was going to do it. I just," his shoulders lifted, "needed to figure out how I was going to say it." He glanced at his two friends, and Sam and Tucker placed their hands on shoulder and hand, giving Danny squeezes of comfort and encouragement.

"Just rip off the Band-Aid," Dash said impatiently.

"You know what he's going to say?" Kwan demanded, suddenly feeling a bit betrayed that Dash knew something that he didn't about Danny.

"Maybe." Dash frowned as he rubbed at the back of his neck. His eyes darted at Danny for a brief moment. "Most likely. But delaying the inevitable isn't going to change anything. So he might as well just say it and get it over with."

"I know. You're right." Danny sighed as he sat back in his chair. His friends didn't look as convinced, but they were clearly worried about Danny. His gaze turned to Kwan then to his parents. "I'm Danny Phantom." His face was neutral, showing no sign that he was about to crack a grin and laugh and say it was all a joke.

The statement left Kwan breathless, and he glanced toward Dash, who sat without reaction. Clearly, he had known this was what Danny was about to say. But how? He remembered right before his date with Danny and how Dash mentioned Phantom rescued them from the ghost. Dash was too casual about it, not his usual excited fan boy self whenever it came to Phantom. His mind was still reeling from this new information when the conversation pressed forward.

"Danny, that's not possible," Mrs. Fenton said. Her voice tried too hard to make it sound like she didn't believe him, but there was worry and fright in her eyes. She knew her son wasn't lying to her. "You can't be a ghost."

"You're right." Danny nodded. "I'm not a ghost. Not a full one anyway. I'm half ghost." He stood up from the table, and with a flash of light that passed over him, he stood before them as Phantom. Kwan's mouth dropped open at the sight of white hair and bright green eyes and the familiar black and white jumpsuit. Even if this some big prank Danny had cooked up, there was no way he could make a transformation like that.

Mr. Fenton reacted, his arms unfolding and his hands twitching to grab one of his inventions to fight the ghost before him. But he stopped himself, as did his wife. They both stared at Danny with looks of shock and horror, poised and tensed for a fight, but there was a slight tremble in their bodies. They never expected that the ghost hero they hunted was their own son, and now that fact was sinking in. They were remembering the terrible things they tried to do him, what they shouted at his retreating form that they would do if they ever caught them, and pain and regret washed through their expressions.

"Oh, Danny!" Mrs. Fenton finally said, covering her mouth with a hand.

Mr. Fenton dropped heavily back into his chair, and it was a wonder that the chair didn't break under his weight. "My own son," he mumbled, looking pale. Kwan didn't know any better than they did what to say after an announcement like that.

"I'm still the same Danny you've always known," he said quickly, and there was panic in his green eyes that now looked strange when he expected them to be blue. Desperation was in his expression as if he needed them to say that they accepted him for what he was.

Kwan started to break through his shock. He placed his hands on the table, ready to rise from his chair when Danny's parents moved first. They shot out of their chairs and were around the table before Kwan could fully stand. For one terrifying moment, Kwan thought the ghost hunter in them took over, but his parents drew Danny into a crushing hug. Relief filled Danny's expression when his parents didn't start screaming at him, saying he was a monster or they were going to capture him and dissect him or whatever else ghost hunters did to ghosts.

"Danny, we love you no matter what," Mr. Fenton repeated, but there was a certain amount of guilt lingering in his eyes.

"You're still our son," Mrs. Fenton agreed as she cupped Danny's face in her hands and stared into his eyes. "You could have told us about this. We would have understood."

Danny gave them a watery smile before his gaze slid toward Kwan. Right. Danny would be waiting for his response too. It hit right then that he went on a date with Danny _Phantom_ last night, and that was a sort of mind blowing fact. He forced that thought away as best he could. That fact wasn't important. He didn't go on the date because of Phantom. He went on the date because he really liked Danny _Fenton_. That he was also Phantom was more a secondary thing. He wasn't going to like Danny simply because he was a hero to the town and had ghost powers. He liked Danny because he was smart and funny and he enjoyed being around Danny and discussing whatever they were studying and books and movies.

"Danny, I like you," Kwan said, and he swallowed when Danny's parents stared at him. "I have no bad intentions with your son. I promise."

"I certainly hope not." Mr. Fenton pulled away from his son and stood with his arms folded as he glared at Kwan. "You seem like a nice boy. I'd hate to have to hurt you if you did any harm to my son."

"Dad, he's not going to do me 'any harm.'" Danny rolled his eyes, but a green flush was rising to his cheeks, and that seemed like a rather interesting response. Kwan didn't realize ghosts blushed green. Or did it depend on the ghost? He was getting distracted and tried to focus back on what was important at the moment.

"This is a lot to take in," Kwan confessed, "but it doesn't change that I like you. This is just a new side of you that I have to learn about. I'm sure there are sides of me that you don't know about either. I still want to go on that second date if you do."

Danny smiled widely and nodded his head. "Yes!" He bit his lower lip, embarrassed by his excited response.

"But you haven't explained about what happened to you last night," Tucker pointed out with a furrowing of his brow.

"Yeah," Sam agreed, and she looked worried at the reminder. "Why did you pass out like that?"

"Right," Danny said, coming down from his happy cloud. He sighed as he raked a hand through his hair. Then after a moment, he decided to revert back to his human form.

"That's fascinating," his mother whispered, that curious look of a scientist wanting to study something new appearing in her gaze. She looked as if she wanted to take him to their laboratory and run tests on him, but her mothering side seemed to win out as she brushed back a lock of Danny's raven hair.

"It turns out that the ghost that was messing with people's dreams," Danny said.

"Ghosts can do that?" his father asked, eyes widening with surprise.

"Certain ghosts." Danny smiled at his father before returning to his story. "He just wanted to help someone but was making a mess of it in the process. The passing out thing was just the ghost pulling me into the realm of dreams. Sorry about that." He winced as he glanced at Kwan. "I doubt he really has any concept about dates or cares that he ruined the end of ours and made you freak out like that. I'm really sorry that everything got messed up."

"It's okay." Kwan was surprised to find that it was, but he was just so relieved that nothing serious was wrong with Danny. "You're okay. That's what really matters."

"Still, I'm sorry. I'm going to have a talk with some ghosts and make sure they don't interrupt our date again." Danny's mouth thinned, and there was an angry look that surprised Kwan. "Not all ghosts are evil," he added, for his parents. "And these cuts are just from going into the dreamscape of this boy in the hospital. They should heal up quickly. They're almost gone already."

"I was wondering how those healed up so fast," his mother said, eying the cuts that remained.

"All part of having ghost powers." Danny smiled. "Anyway, the whole thing was all to wake up a boy in a coma that happened by accident because the Dream Trickster tried to help him be less scared when he climbed a tree but ended up spooking the boy when he accidentally saw the ghost, which landed him in a coma. Anyway, I helped them wake up the boy, so all the trouble with people acting weird after their dreams were messed with should all be done with now."

"And I thought Sam and I had a crazy night at that concert," Tucker mumbled, staring with wide eyes at his friend.

"So you can imagine how exhausted I still feel," Danny said as he dropped back into his chair.

"You've been dealing with stuff like this for the past four years?" his father asked in amazement, and Danny nodded his head. "And you've actually managed to keep your grades up? Ow!" Mr. Fenton rubbed at his arm where his wife smacked him, but he sounded amazed that his son was able to deal with all the crazy that life threw at him.

"Danny, I wish you would have told us about all of this sooner," his mother said. "We could have helped you. Take some of the burden off you."

Danny shook his head. "It's fine, Mom. It used to be really crazy and chaotic when I was still learning to use my powers, but everything's gotten a lot easier. And you can thank Kwan and Dash." He grinned over at the two of them. "I don't think I would have survived without their help."

"You helped us too," Kwan reminded, feeling a flush on his cheeks. Dash looked away, rubbing at the back of his neck, but he had a blush too.

The conversation fell into more talk about ghosts and a fuller explanation of the events of Danny's night after he "passed out." Danny made sure to include why there was no record of him in the hospital, thanks to a ghost named Technus, after Dash prodded him about it. It was all an interesting story, though Kwan still found his mind spinning at the fact that Danny could do all of that. This was a whole side of Danny that he never could have expected, but he liked it. He caught Danny's gaze, and they gave each other small smiles, and Kwan felt that usual butterflies fluttering around inside him sensation. Danny was a really amazing person.


	25. Chapter 25

Colin shoveled a spoonful of wiggly red Jell-O into his mouth with the little white plastic spoon that came with his meal. His parents had agreed with the doctors when they suggested leaving the boy under their care for a night to make sure everything was all right with him. They were shocked to come into his room early Sunday morning to discover the boy was awake. They couldn't explain it, but there was never any real predicting for when a person might come out of a coma. His parents were beyond overjoyed when they saw their son, hugging him and kissing him with tears in their eyes. A real touching scene. A Kodak moment.

His parents were currently talking with the doctors and signing papers for his release and all that other adult stuff that mortals had to do. The Dream Trickster yawned in boredom just thinking about the dull mundane things that humans did day in and day out. At least their dreams could be quite interesting, and their nightmares tastier. Colin seemed to catch the motion of the ghost raising his hand to cover his mouth.

"Are you going to be around? Like always? Like some sort of guardian angel?" Colin questioned after swallowing his Jell-O. "But you don't really look like an angel. Can demons be guardians? Because with the horns," he put his hands to the sides of his head and pointed his fingers upwards like he had done in the dreamscape, "you look more like demons."

"We're ghosts," the Nightmare Jester said bluntly. He floated next to the Dream Trickster while sitting with one leg crossed over the other.

"You're about as subtle as a hammer to the head sometimes, you know." The Dream Trickster frowned at his fellow dream ghost. "What would you do if saying something like that terrified the boy?"

"You're not as scary anymore," Colin admitted in a small voice with his head bowed as he scooped up another square of his Jell-O. "You kept me safe when those scary things tried to get me."

The Dream Trickster glowered when the Nightmare Jester glanced toward him with a smirk. "You got lucky," he mumbled, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. Then he turned back to the boy and tried to mimic the way the half ghost spoke to him during the dreamscape. "We'll make sure those scary things can't hurt you again."

"Well, we can't stop all fears." The Nightmare Jester ignored him when the Dream Trickster shot another glare at him. "Fear is a part of growth. You can't wipe out every fear he has. You'll only make another mess like you were doing before."

"It's okay," Colin said, drawing the Dream Trickster's attention back to him. "I think," he frowned slightly, not fully confident with what he was saying, "I can be brave."

"Well, if you ever feel like your nightmares are too much, just remember us, and we'll come to help you." The Dream Trickster smiled at the boy then turned to glare at his fellow dream ghost. "You have no complaints with that, do you?"

The Nightmare Jester sighed as if it was such a chore to agree with anything the Dream Trickster might say. "I suppose that's reasonable. After all, it is part of our job to skim off fears as needed for people. You can't coddle him though." He stared firmly at the Dream Trickster like he was waiting for an argument. "He's not yours to constantly fret over, and you can't be distracted from your job to take care of him all the time."

"I wasn't going to," the Dream Trickster grumbled, feeling more like a scolded child than the ancient ghost that he was. Voices could be heard as people neared the room. "And that sounds like our cue to leave." He glanced toward the boy and smiled. "See you in your dreams sometime." He waved then turned invisible. The Nightmare Jester bowed his head to Colin, who gave an enthusiastic goodbye as the dream ghosts vanished from his sight.

The Dream Trickster lingered for a moment, watching as Colin's parents entered the hospital room and hugged him and told him that he would be able to come home today. A smile pulled at his mouth. Then he phased through the wall of the hospital, following the Nightmare Jester.

"I suppose we should get back to our job," the Dream Trickster said, almost sounding bored with the idea. They never really interacted with sleepers, and it was an odd yet satisfying experience. Though they had the ability to manipulate dreams, it wasn't something they were supposed to do except under certain circumstances, and speaking with the sleepers in the dreams was bound to be against some rule unless a dire need arose. His gaze drifted toward the ghost beside him, and he frowned. "I suppose this is goodbye then."

"I do believe there's one last piece of information you need to share with a certain half ghost."

The Dream Trickster pressed his mouth thin as he glared back at the Nightmare Jester. "You say that like I was planning on not telling him."

The Nightmare Jester stared blandly back at him. "Can you blame me for not quite trusting you after all you did in an attempt to wake the child? I admit that I'm rather surprised that your plan worked, but it was still reckless and you made a mess of innocent lives while fumbling around for a way to fix your original mistake."

"You don't get to act all perfect," the Dream Trickster pointed out with a glare. "You've been seen too. And I apologized for what I did. If I'm going to have to put up with you lording this whole thing over me for the rest eternity, I'll be glad to part ways and never see you again."

"I wasn't trying to lord it over you," the Nightmare Jester argued. "I just hope you've learned from this and won't make the same mistake in the future."

"Well, I won't. So if that's satisfying enough for you, goodbye." The Dream Trickster flew off through the sky, heading away from the hospital. He was almost a little annoyed when he sensed his fellow dream ghost trailing behind him. "You don't have to keep constant watch over me. You have your own job to do."

"I've considered what the half ghost said." The Nightmare Jester caught up to him, flying alongside him. "If we had communicated more often from the beginning, we may have avoided this whole thing. You could have explained the situation to me, and we could have come up with a solution that didn't involve recklessly stealing away sleeper's dreams."

"Would you have thought of using the half ghost to access that deep level of consciousness within the boy to wake him?" The Dream Trickster's mouth twitched, almost smirking at the annoyance in the other ghost's expression because the Nightmare Jester wouldn't have come up with that idea.

"Would _you_ have thought of it if I hadn't made contact with the half ghost first?" This time, the Nightmare Jester was the smirking one as the Dream Trickster scowled. They touched down at the back of the high school, which was clear of any bothersome students or faculty. "I've never had to try this trick out before. Shouldn't be too hard to pass as human though, right?"

"I imagine it's not too different from altering dreams," the Nightmare Jester said, shrugging.

"And you know so much about that." The Dream Trickster smirked as he leaned closer to the other ghost. "After you paid a visit to that doctor lady and did a little manipulating to make her think that the half ghost being brought in the other night was merely a figment of her imagination. Too many hours and late night shifts and on call emergencies are really taking a toll on her after all."

"It was a favor." The Nightmare Jester kept his gaze away and his expression neutral. "He helped us out, after all. It was only fair to help him out by making the people that were involved in looking over him after _you_ dragged him into the realm of dreams think he was never actually there. I even twisted their dreams slightly so that each one of them remembers him looking differently."

"Yeah, yeah. You're the genius." The Dream Trickster rolled his eyes. Maybe he was just a little frustrated about that fact. If it was the Nightmare Jester that made the mistake that landed Colin in the coma, he probably would have done a lot better job of finding a way to help the boy without making a mess of everything. His mouth thinned as he glared at Mr. Perfect. "Let's get on with this then."

It took him a few tries before he managed to alter his appearance enough to pass as a human. He didn't quite like it. It felt strange masquerading as a human. He adopted clothes like what he saw in the dreams of the teenagers nowadays, dressing in a white hooded sweat shirt and blue jeans. His hair remained at the its same length, just past the shoulder, and same style with it slicked back, but the color was different. Instead of the usual white, his hair was now a dirty blond. His eyes were no longer red and gold but brown and hazel.

The Nightmare Jester managed his transformation after the Dream Trickster, who had to smirk smugly at that fact. He smoothed down the black and gray argyle sweater he now wore over a white collared shirt. His hair remained the same as his ghost form, needing no change, but he adopted the same brown and hazel eyes to replace the unusual color that his eyes naturally were.

The Dream Trickster grumbled but led the way into the high school. It wasn't hard to track down the half ghost, as the Nightmare Jester could still sense him quite easily. The hall was crowded with other students, and the two dream ghosts weaved their way through it until they reached where the half ghost stood with his friend. The Dream Trickster tried not to show his frustration with having to move among the humans, but it would be a whole lot easier to hold a private meeting with the half ghost in their natural forms.

"Uh, who are they?" asked the man standing with his arm around the half ghost's shoulders when they approached.

"I think," the half ghost said slowly as he looked them over, "they're the dream ghosts. Nighty and Dreamy."

"You're still going with those names?" The Nightmare Jester sighed tiredly.

"Yup." The half ghost grinned at them. "Oh, and since you've probably forgotten, I'm Danny." Annoyance flickered in his blue eyes like he knew they weren't referring to him by name. The Dream Trickster looked away guiltily.

"So which one do I have to blame for ruining the end of our date?" the jock questioned, frowning as he glanced between the two ghosts standing before him. "They don't look like ghosts."

"They're disguising themselves," Danny explained. "Ghosts do it sometimes when they want to blend in and not be recognized as a ghost. Ember did it before. And Spectra."

"What? Seriously?" The jock stared at him in surprise.

"Yeah." Danny winced. "And that one's the Dream Trickster," he whispered not too subtly to his friend as he pointed out which one he meant. "He's the one that caused everything."

Aqua green eyes narrowed at him, and the Dream Trickster glared back at the human. "He does kind of look like the ghost I remember from the park," the jock said. "Though he's missing the mask and horns."

Danny lifted his eyebrows as if remembering something. "Why _do_ you wear those masks?"

The Nightmare Jester shrugged. "Gives off that mysterious aura."

"More like creepy aura," the jock muttered.

"Whatever," the Dream Trickster grumbled. "We didn't come here for a social visit or to talk about why we are the way we are. We've always had the masks. That's just the way we are. Why does there have to be any deep meaning to it?"

"So it's _not_ to hide some hideous scar!" Danny grinned as if proud to have that mystery cleared up. Then he turned serious as his brow knitted. "If this isn't a social visit, why are you here? Oh no! You don't have another problem that I need to help you solve, do you?" His shoulders slumped, and he wore an exhausted expression.

The Nightmare Jester shook his head. "I wanted to return this to you." He held out something in his hand that looked as if it could fit over his ear like some sort of listening device or communications unit. "Since everything has been resolved now, I don't think we'll need to stay in contact with each through this anymore."

"Wait. You had that this whole time?" The Dream Trickster frowned, mouth pursing angrily. "We could have just contacted him to come out and meet us?" His eye twitched at the smirk that crossed the other dream ghost's face.

The jock and Danny eyed the two of them for a moment before Danny finally took the device back from the Nightmare Jester. "Is that it?" the half ghost asked with a curious furrowing of his brow. "Because you could have done that at any time. You didn't have to come here especially just for this."

The Nightmare Jester nudged him, and the Dream Trickster elbowed him back out of annoyance. "Actually," the Dream Trickster growled out with narrowed eyes at his fellow dream ghost before he turned to Danny, "there was a small issue I wanted to mention to you. It has something to do with the dreams I took. I may have," he tapped his index fingers together as he looked away, "destroyed one of them; therefore, I am unable to return it to the sleeper."

"What?" Danny demanded, anger flashing in his eyes that nearly shifting to green. He started toward the ghost, but his friend held him back, seizing hold of the half ghost's arms.

"Before you get angry and start a scene in front of everyone in school," the jock said, and his words seemed to give Danny pause, "perhaps you should let him explain further." He glanced toward the ghost. "Whose dream did you destroy exactly?"

"Uh," the Dream Trickster said, trying to recall, but names weren't something he bothered to remember in most cases with sleepers. He glanced about the hall, certain that the sleeper was someone within the school. After some searching, he found the one whose dream couldn't be returned. "That one." He pointed his finger toward a man, muscular and broad shouldered like any jock that played football and wearing a letterman jacket. The sleeper carried a box full of supplies as he followed after a woman with pink clips in her long ebony hair.

"Oh," Danny said, relaxing his posture as the anger petered out of him. "Calvin's dream was destroyed?" He glanced toward his friend briefly. "I suppose I can let you off on that one. It's actually better that you took his nightmare. He's probably in for a much better life now."

"How come you didn't do anything to his nightmare before?" the jock questioned, and he held that curiosity of someone who couldn't ignore a puzzle right before his eyes. "Why did you let him keep that fear of being scared of showing his true self to people instead of helping him by skimming it away?"

"We make judgment calls," the Nightmare Jester explained, and the Dream Trickster sighed, wishing he could explain things as well as his fellow ghost did. "We view dreams and have to decide whether the nightmare warrants us to skim some fear away or not. But we're not omnipotent. We don't know how things will turn out if we let one nightmare alone and skim from another. Sometimes we make mistakes by not acting sooner." He glanced toward the Dream Trickster, who bristled, ready to snap back at him if he said anything negative about him. "I'm just glad that in this case our mistake seems to have done more good than bad."

Danny sighed as he leaned back against the jock with a relieved expression on his face. "I'm glad for that too. I would be really mad at you if you destroyed someone else's dream. Especially if it _was_ a dream and not a nightmare."

"I'll be sure not make any more mistakes like that in the future," the Dream Trickster said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I apologize for dragging you into all of this."

Danny shook his head. "Everything turned out in the end. I'm just glad we could wake the boy from his coma."

The Nightmare Jester eyed the half ghost before his eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Seems like I won't be getting too many delicious meals from you now."

"Sorry." Danny grinned, clearly not sorry at all. "Perhaps you ate enough of my nightmares to give me the confidence to tell them the truth."

"Perhaps." The Nightmare Jester didn't look all that disappointed to lose out on Danny's nightmares. "Well then." He clapped his hands together. "You have mortal things to deal with, and we should return to our jobs now." He nodded to the half ghost and his jock friend.

The Dream Trickster gave a wave then followed the other ghost back to the nearest exit of the high school. "What was the whole point of posing as humans for this?" he asked once they were alone outside. "It was completely unnecessary."

The Nightmare Jester shrugged. "Why does there have to be any deep meaning in it?" Having the words thrown back at him didn't set the Dream Trickster in a very good mood. "We've existed for quite a number of centuries now, and we've seen much through people's dreams and nightmares. But we haven't really experienced a whole lot for ourselves, have we?"

"I suppose not," the Dream Trickster agreed with a frown as he folded his arms.

"Perhaps I just wanted a new experience." The Nightmare Jester smirked, and the Dream Trickster snapped his gaze away with a flustered feeling. "Let's meet again sometime soon." He saluted his fellow ghost before taking off into the sky to perform his task of observing people's dreams.

His mouth pursed, and his hands squeezed around his biceps. "Oh, fine," the Dream Trickster grumbled in defeat. He would find the Nightmare Jester again, but for now, he had his job to perform.


	26. Chapter 26

"So this was the cause of you becoming," his father's brow creased, and that guilt was back in his eyes, "half ghost?"

"Yup," Danny answered while they stood in front of the Ghost Portal. It wasn't quite a full week after he told them the truth, and his parents still had thousands of questions for him. He allowed them to run some tests on him, basically just checking on his health, gathering information on his transformation between human and ghost, and drawing some blood to exam it. He really couldn't blame them. They were scientists at heart, and here he was a brand new specimen for them to observe and study.

But they continuously reassured him that they weren't going to do anything to hurt him and that they loved him very much. Danny stopped having so many nightmares about his parents trying to dissect him, and there was a sort of relief to having his parents study him. If ever anything was wrong with him, like his powers acting up or some bizarre ghost illness caught him, they would better understand what was happening and could find a way to help him.

There was always Vlad to go to for advice about his ghost powers, but it didn't seem to Danny that the older half ghost really didn't care to speak with him all that much, or often. He frowned when he thought of Vlad. Valerie hadn't mentioned anything about hearing from Elle recently, and that only made Danny worry more about how her talks with Vlad were going. He really hoped Vlad hadn't hurt Elle.

"I can't believe it," his father mumbled as he stared at the closed black and yellow striped doors of the Portal. "The whole reason the Portal worked was because of you." He shook his head. "Something like that should have killed you."

"It nearly did." Danny frowned, shuddering at the memory. "Not an experience I like to think about too much."

His father nodded. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking guilty yet again. "I shouldn't have asked. Of course you don't want to remember something like that." He dropped a hand on his son's shoulder. "I think we still have some fudge." He directed Danny toward the stairs leading up to the kitchen, and Danny smiled somewhat and didn't argue.

They walked into the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Danny left his father to search for what remained of the last batch of fudge that his mother made as he went to answer the door. It was no surprise to him when he opened the door to find his friends there. He whistled at the sight of Sam in the same lavender dress from the photo shoot. She looked just as amazing in it as she did the first time. Her ebony hair was drawn to one side to drape over her shoulder in loose ringlets. She added her own little touches to the outfit by wearing a pairing of silver skull earrings and a black choker that had a small silver bat charm dangling from it.

"Wow," Danny breathed after taking in the sight of her. "You look beautiful, Sam."

"Hey! What about me?" Tucker asked, but his tone was teasing. He wore a sharp looking suit all in black except for his lavender tie that looked good on him and matched well with the dress that Sam wore.

"You look good too." Danny laughed as Tucker puffed out his chest in pride. "But what are you doing here?"

"Why aren't you dressed?" Sam frowned, her brow creasing just slightly. "We were going to pick you up, and then grab Tucker's auction winner before heading to prom."

"Oh," Danny mumbled, turning his gaze away. "Well," he scratched behind his ear, "you see, I decided not to go." He shrugged, trying to act like he wasn't sad about how things turned out. "But you guys go. Have fun." He shooed them away, forcing a big smile onto his face.

"Are you seriously not going just because of Kwan?" Tucker stared at him with a look in his green eyes that made Danny shift awkwardly.

"I wasn't planning on going from the beginning. You know, ghosts and all. Besides, I didn't exactly have anyone to ask other than Kwan, and it wouldn't be any fun going alone." Danny shrugged. "Anyway, it's fine. I have books to read, and I can catch up on movies or video games or something. Don't worry about me. Go out and enjoy your prom. Just put me out of your minds and have fun. I want you to."

"You're going to make Paulina unhappy," Sam said, folding her arms. "She really wanted everyone in our class to attend prom and have a great night."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not going," Danny pointed out as he leaned against the doorframe. "Everyone else is going to be dancing with their dates and having fun. And I'll just be there. Alone. And miserable. So I'm really saving Paulina from getting upset that not everyone is having a great time after she put in so much work to make sure everyone enjoys their prom. Who did Paulina end up deciding to go with? Wait. Who did the two of you end up going with? With everything that happened, I completely forgot about asking you guys about your dates."

"Well, you were pretty busy doing the whole couple thing with Kwan," Tucker reminded, cracking a grin. "You two have been pretty involved with each other all week."

"And you and Sam haven't been?" Danny lifted an eyebrow at them, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth when his friends blushed. He knew he was distracted with Kwan a lot lately, but he still made time to hang out with his friends, who thankfully didn't act all couple like around him and make him feel like a third wheel around them when it was just the three of them.

"Okay. So maybe we have been a little involved with each other recently," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "But that's only natural." She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I believe Paulina said she was actually going to go with Calvin to prom. I could hardly believe it when she told me, but she said that with Calvin having changed so much recently that she could hardly believe he was the same person she couldn't bring herself to crush his hopes by saying no. At least she knows that he won't act like a total jerk the whole night now."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, surprised to hear that Paulina actually agreed to go with Calvin. "The Dream Trickster probably should have taken Calvin's nightmare and destroyed it years ago." He glanced between his friends, and his eyebrows lifted curiously. "Any reason you're not telling me who the two of you are going to prom with?"

"Well," Tucker said as he reached up and scratched at the back of his head. He glanced toward Sam then to Danny. "It was Dani. Er, Elle. I keep forgetting that she likes to be called that now."

Danny blinked several times as that news settled into his brain. "W-What?" He wasn't mad at all. Stunned described what he felt at that moment nicely. "I didn't even know she was back in town!"

"Yeah!" Tucker agreed. "I was pretty surprised when she walked up to give Star the money after winning my auction. Especially since, you know, she's with Valerie and all."

"So it's pretty much like we're going in a group," Sam said. "We're going to pick up Elle and Valerie and go together."

Danny nodded. "Elle won Tucker's auction, so you're," he pointed at Sam, "going with Valerie, but you're going switch to your respective partners at prom."

"Worked out nicely, didn't it?" Sam smiled, and Danny had to wonder if she somehow orchestrating the whole thing so that she could still end up going to prom with Tucker. He didn't plan to tell anyone if that was the case.

"You shouldn't keep your dates waiting then." Danny smirked at them. "Really, you two. I'm fine. So go have fun. Stop making me repeat myself."

Tucker sighed. "I guess there's no convincing him. Come on, Sam. He's right. We shouldn't keep Elle and Val waiting."

"Yeah." Sam frowned in her disappointment. They said their goodbyes then walked back to Sam's car parked outside Fenton Works.

Danny watched them go until they climbed into the car. Then he closed the door with a tired sigh. He had spent the day forgetting that prom was tonight, and he really wished his friends didn't stop by to remind him of that fact. Raking a hand through his hair, he wandered back to the kitchen.

"Was that your friends?" his father asked, holding out a chunk of fudge for him. "Not going to hang out with them?"

Danny shook his head then took a bite out of the fudge. He sat down at the table as he chewed on it. "They're going to prom. I don't want to ruin their night."

"Don't think like that!" His father patted a hand to Danny's back and gave him a gentle shake. "They'd never let you spend the night moping. So you don't have a date. Big deal. I'd bet Sam would save you a dance. Or both of them would drag you out onto the floor to dance with them. They'd never just ignore you."

Danny realized his father was right. Tucker and Sam cared a lot about him, and they would make sure to include him in the fun. "No," he said again, shaking his head. "I don't want to intrude. This is a night for them. I don't want them feeling like they have an obligation to cheer me up."

"If you're sure." His father frowned in that way that suggested he believed his son was lying to himself. Danny pretended to be oblivious. "I started work on a new invention this morning," his father said suddenly after a lull of silence. "If it works right, it should scan the targeted ghost and allow us to better understand its molecular makeup and potential powers. Do you want to help me work on it?"

Danny eyed his father as he popped the last bite of fudge into his mouth. "By help," he said uncertainly after swallowing the fudge, "do you mean allow you to test it on me?"

"No," his father said quickly with a shake of his head. "No, no. It's definitely _not_ in the testing stage just yet. But I thought you'd have some pretty good input on this type of stuff after all your experience with ghosts."

"Oh." Danny blinked in surprise. "Sure!" He grinned as he stood and followed his father into the laboratory. His parents always showed him their inventions, and he had plenty of experience using them, but his parents hadn't ever asked him to help them with one. It would be good experience to do some actual work on inventions rather than only learning how to wield them.

His father laid his latest invention down on the table set up in the middle of the laboratory. It looked unfinished in some places, the belly of it remaining open with all its internal parts bared for the world to see. Danny suffered a disturbing moment of imagining this being like a dissection, expect with machinery instead of a ghost. But he pushed past that imagery as his father started explaining various components about the invention.

"I was having some problems-" his father said when the doorbell ringing cut off the rest of his explanation.

Danny sighed. "I'll get it. I hope it's not Sam and Tuck trying again to convince to go with them to prom though." He climbed the stairs and entered the kitchen to find his mother was already walking toward the front door.

"Were you just down in the lab?" his mother asked, pausing at the door leading into the front hall.

"Yeah, Dad was showing me his newest invention, though he looks like he's having some problems with it," Danny explained as he passed her. "Maybe you should give it a look. You know how he can be with calculations sometimes."

"I better check on that before he decides to take the invention for a test run." His mother turned and headed for the laboratory.

Danny continued to the front door then pulled it open, ready to give his friends an annoyed glare when he froze. His jaw fell slightly, and he tried to subtly reach an hand around to pinch at his other arm. Nope. He was definitely not dreaming at that moment though it certainly felt like he might be. Kwan stood on his doorstep, wearing a well fitted three piece suit with his shirt and slacks being black while his vest and tie were a nice dark green.

"So Paulina wasn't lying about you showing up with a dozen roses," Danny said after he could find his voice again. When Kwan smiled, Danny thought he might melt right there and then.

"I couldn't disappoint after she said something like." Kwan held out the bouquet of red roses, and Danny accepted them with that nervous sensation of butterflies dancing about inside him.

"Um," Danny mumbled none too eloquently. "This is... nice. Really nice. But shouldn't you be meeting your date for prom?" His brow knitted as he frowned at Kwan. As much as he really liked having Kwan show up on his doorstep with roses, he knew the jock wouldn't break the promise that went with being in the auction. Kwan was too nice to stand up someone that was looking forward to going to prom with him.

"Right. Valerie told me that you, and I quote, 'better be happy' and that you owe her for ensuring that you get to go to prom with me." Kwan grinned while Danny could only blink at him in surprise as the words slowly seeped in.

"Wait. Valerie won your auction?" Danny thought he had definitely missed something as Kwan nodded to his question. "But Sam said that she was going with Valerie as part of the whole Elle going with Tucker and then they switch partners at prom."

"Yeah." Kwan chuckled, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Valerie won my auction, and your cousin won Tucker's. When I talked with Valerie after the auction, she said they were making sure that Sam would get to go to prom with Tucker while you would get to go with me. I told everyone not to tell you anything about who won my auction and stuff because I wanted this to be a surprise."

"You certainly caught me by surprise," Danny agreed, unable to stop his smile from stretching widely across his face. "She's right. I do owe her for this." He could hardly believe that Valerie thought to do something like that for him. He couldn't even think of how he could return the favor to her. "Oh," he mumbled suddenly as he frowned. "But I don't really have anything to wear. When I didn't win your auction, I pretty much gave up the whole idea of going to prom so I didn't bother getting a suit or anything."

"Ahem."

Danny turned around when he heard his mother. She stood just behind him, and Danny really hated sometimes how quietly she could move. His father remained behind at the kitchen door with a big grin plastered on his face. Danny's cheeks felt like they were on fire with the blush that exploded across his face. Had his parents been there the whole time watching and listening to them? That was so embarrassing!

"Sam told us earlier about this whole arrangement," his mother said, and she had that thrilled look of a proud mother. Since finding out about their relationship, his parents had gotten to know Kwan a lot better, and they both, thankfully, approved of him. "So I made sure you had a suit ready. I laid it out on your bed before I came downstairs."

Danny's mind spun for a moment. "Wait. But if Sam and Tucker already knew about this, why did they come over and try to convince me to go with them?"

"Well," Kwan bowed his head slightly with a blush, "we thought maybe we'd surprise you at prom. But when you kept refusing to come, we had to change the plan."

"Oh." Danny flushed again, guilt overcoming him for messing up everyone's plans.

"I think it worked out better this way," his father said, joining them in the front hall. "Now we can get some pre-prom pictures of the two of you! Jazzy pants will want to see them."

"So you hurry up and get dressed." His mother took the bouquet from his arms and shooed him to head upstairs.

Danny climbed the stairs, still feeling like this was some sort of dream because it hardly felt real. As he entered his bedroom, he almost wondered if he should try to make contact with the Dream Trickster and the Nightmare Jester to make sure he wasn't trapped in some dreamscape, albeit a really nice one, that simply _felt_ real even when it wasn't. Shaking that thought from his head, Danny hurried the prepare for prom as a nervous jittery excitement filled him. He would be going to prom with Kwan! He could have danced right then in all his excitement.

Once he was finished, Danny left his room then walked down the stairs. His heart pounded in his chest, and his cheeks grew steadily redder when Kwan looked up at him with that same look of awe that Danny probably wore when he first opened the door. Danny scratched at his rosy cheek as he reached the bottom of the stairs, feeling a little awkward in the white suit with a powdery blue vest and tie.

"You look," Kwan seemed lost for words as he stepped up to stand before Danny, "really good." A laugh almost bubbled out of Danny at the failure, and Kwan blushed at the lame choice of words. "Handsome. I should have said handsome."

"Okay. Okay. Turn this way so we can get a picture!" his father said, holding up his camera at the ready to snap pictures of them.

"I'm sorry about this," Danny mumbled as they turned to face his parents.

"I get copies though, right?" Kwan grinned at him, placing an arm around Danny's waist as they stood side pressed against side. The flash from the camera was nearly blinding.

"If you really want them." Danny laughed, wondering how badly their expressions would look with them squinting at the brightness of the flash.

"Jack dear, I think that's enough," his mother said after what must be a dozen or two pictures. "They probably want to get going so that they can enjoy prom."

"All right," his father said, sounding disappointed. "You two have fun. And don't stay out too late. Curfew is at elev- Ow!"

"It's prom night, and they're both good, responsible young men. But," his mother gave them a stern glare. "I expect you to be back by one."

"Okay, Mom." Danny suffered embarrassing hugs of goodbye from his parents before he was allowed to leave the house with Kwan. "So I guess we both have embarrassing parents." He rubbed awkwardly at his arm as they walked to Kwan's car.

"Just one of the things we have in common." Kwan stopped at the passenger's side door. When he turned back around, he cupped Danny's cheek and drew him closer until their lips met in a gentle kiss that last for at least three heartbeats. "Sorry," Kwan mumbled when he pulled back. "I wanted to do that the moment you came down the stairs."

"You don't have to apologize," Danny said, still in a slight daze from the kiss. Then he grinned suddenly. "You're keeping that suit, right?"

"You like it?" Kwan chuckled.

Danny let his gaze roam down Kwan's body then slowly back up. "Oh yeah," he answered. "It looks really good on you."

Kwan grinned as he wrapped his arms around Danny's waist, holding him flushed against his chest. "I'm glad it meets your approval." He dropped another kiss onto his date's mouth, and Danny was starting to think he would be content to just stand there all night in Kwan's arms and share little kisses. And maybe more.

"We should probably get to prom," Danny murmured, almost disappointed with his words.

"Yeah," Kwan agreed in a sigh. "All our friends are kind of waiting on us."

"I think Paulina picked the right theme. Because my dream is definitely coming true right now." As soon as the words left his mouth, a blush colored Danny's cheeks when he realized how corny that sounded. Kwan didn't seem to mind that though as he gave Danny another kiss before, reluctantly, pulling away to open the passenger's side door.

"The dream is just beginning," Kwan whispered into Danny's ear before he closed the door then walked around to the driver's side. Danny nervously fumbled with his seatbelt after that. He hoped this dream lasted for years and years to come.


End file.
